(Bloomberg) -- Assicurazioni Generali SpA’s embattled Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet defended his strategy against a group of investors trying to overthrow him and said he has no intention of changing it.

Donnet, who in December outlined a plan to return as much as 5.6 billion euros ($6.1 billion) in dividends to shareholders by 2024, said his approach will create value for all stakeholders. The strategy has prompted opposition from top investor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who proposed an alternative slate of candidates to run the insurer.

“The market, the investors who I’ve been meeting in the past few weeks, fully understand our plan,” Donnet said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Friday. “They like our plan.”

Caltagirone, the second-largest shareholder, contends that a decades-long grip by Mediobanca SpA, the largest investor, has led Generali to lose its way and miss opportunities. Donnet, who is running for a third term as CEO, said his strategy was both “ambitious” and “credible,” while that of his challengers appeared to be changing every day.

On Thursday, Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Claudio Costamagna, who is running for the role of chairman under Caltagirone’s proposal, said that “a substantial” number of shareholders are supporting the challengers’ plan. Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio told Bloomberg News last week that he’s backing Caltagirone’s proposal.

“We actually think we can win,” Costamagna said, speaking also on Bloomberg TV.

Donnet, 61, joined as CEO of Generali Italy in 2013. The French native replaced Mario Greco as group CEO in March 2016, at a time when low interest rates and pressure on prices were making it more difficult for insurers to maintain earnings growth. 

Since taking the helm, Donnet has strengthened the firm’s finances, cut costs and expanded into more lucrative product areas while cementing Generali’s presence in its home market by taking over smaller rival Societa Cattolica di Assicurazioni.

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