Bobinac was nominated for the chief supervisor by a nomination committee, a move that was quickly followed by speculation that he might not be the best person for the job.

One of the key reasons cited was his responsibility for the situation of Gorenje after it was taken over by Chinese group Hisense, including layoffs and moving the company's management to Ljubljana.

The business newspaper Finance reported on Sunday that Bobinac had withdrawn his approval of the nomination.

Gobbo was the candidate nominated by Modra Zavarovalnica insurer, the largest single owner of Cinkarna, and Generali Investments funds.

Several other candidates were nominated by other Cinkarna Celje shareholders, but Gobbo enjoyed the highest support even before the vote and was appointed before any other vote had taken place.

A retired financial expert based in Italy and a member of the Zavarovalnica Triglav supervisory board, Gobbo will succeed Borut Jamnik, who stepped down just over a month ago, citing objective reasons.

The CEO of Modra Zavarovalnica is also a supervisor of NKBM bank and Krka pharmaceutical company and had to give up his supervisory function in one of the three companies.

Modra Zavarovalnica holds a 20% share in Cinkarna. The Bank Asset Management Company (BAMC) owns 12.83%, while the Sovereign Holding (SSH), the state assets custodian, holds 11.41%, while General Investments holds less than 5%.

Neither BAMC, nor the SSH, both state asset managers, who hold a combined 24.24% in Cinkarna, voted for Gobbo.