Pier Francesco Guarguaglini is a rugged and determined Tuscan. Like so many others in lovely Tuscany, he likes to keep things simple and direct. Since taking charge of Finmeccanica six years ago, Mr Guarguaglini, 71, has turned the Cinderella of the European defence industry into a global player, outmanoeuvring bigger rivals such as the fiendishly complicated EADS.

He has quietly streamlined and refocused the Italian industrial group while EADS remains shackled to its bureaucratic Franco-German heritage. He has done all this even though the Italian government owns a big stake in his company just as the French and German governments have an influential say in EADS.