* Board meets on Thursday in Warsaw
* Deputy CEOs Nicastro, Ghizzoni front runners
* Approval of shareholder foundations seen crucial
* Central bank, gov't want strong candidate
By Ian Simpson
MILAN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank UniCredit SpA is racing against time to replace its chief executive, ousted in a clash with shareholders, but finding the ideal candidate seems almost impossible.
Facing central bank pressure for a quick succession, UniCredit might have a replacement picked as soon as Thursday afternoon, just nine days after Alessandro Profumo quit as head of Italy's most multi-national bank.
Its board will meet in Warsaw, where UniCredit owns Bank Pekao. The succession is expected to be on the agenda, with a new director general's post to balance the CEO also under consideration.
UniCredit's appointments committee could meet ahead of the board, a necessary step to naming a CEO, a source close to the issue said. Chairman Dieter Rampl has taken over as acting chief executive.
No single preferred replacement has emerged, two sources close to the issue have said.
And finding an ideal successor for Profumo -- architect of UniCredit's rise from regional Italian lender to pan-European player -- will be tough, analysts and observers said.
Profumo "is a banker with a wide view of business, global. In general bankers in Italy are more provincial, more local," said Gianni Dell'Orto, head of Neusearch, a Milan executive search firm.
"So finding a gentleman that knows about banking, that can take the place of Alessandro Profumo, it's not easy. It's extremely difficult."
The checklist for the ideal candidate would include running big bank operations, knowledge of commercial banking in Italy and a high international profile, not to mention fluent Italian, Dell'Orto and analysts said.
A good relationship with non-profit shareholder foundations holding a total of 11 percent of shares would also be vital.
STRONG FOUNDATIONS
Profumo's exit came after a clash with foundations and other shareholders over Libya's growing stake. The Libyan move was the last straw for foundations and other shareholders fed up with UniCredit's lagging performance and other clashes with Profumo.
"The foundations would obviously like to find an Italian, with a lot of banking experience and a high profile and who is keen to listen to their suggestions. It's basically impossible to find someone, I think they have a very difficult task," said a Milan-based analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sources have said one top candidate is Roberto Nicastro, UniCredit's 45-year-old retail chief and one of four deputy chief executives.
Newspapers have also mentioned Deputy Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni, the 54-year-old head of central and eastern Europe, in tandem with Nicastro, with one taking the CEO job and the other becoming director general.
Another possibility is Andrea Orcel, executive chairman of global banking at Bank of America Corp, but sources say his candidacy seems to have been dropped.
"I think if they come up with somebody by Thursday it would be rather surprising. That would depend on whether they hedged their situation by picking somebody before kicking him (Profumo) out," said a second analyst.
The Bank of Italy and the economy ministry are pressing for a strong CEO to avert UniCredit's possible break-up of some foreign assets, the two sources close to the issue said, as the foundations want more focus on Italy.
Although he has been mentioned as a CEO candidate, Enrico Cucchiani, the head of insurer Allianz Italia, has confirmed his "absolute unavailability", Ansa news agency reported on Tuesday.
Another deputy chief executive, global banking boss Paolo Fiorentino, declined to comment on whether he might take a new job at the bank. (Additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Editing by David Cowell)