Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI) deputy CEO Zion Keinan (52) will replace Shai Talmon as head of corporate banking. “Globes” predicted the appointment two weeks ago, when Talmon was appointed CEO of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. (TASE: CLIS). Bank Hapoalim’s board approved Keinan’s appointment last night. The appointment makes Keinan the number two man at the bank, and the in-house heir apparent to CEO Zvi Ziv.
Ziv has been in his present post since 2003, and his contract expires in the summer of 2009. Keinan, who is currently the head of the retail banking division, was promoted up through the retail side of the bank and lacks grounding in corporate credit. Taking over from Talmon will enable him to acquire experience in credit management ahead of a possible future appointment to the post of CEO.
Keinan will be replaced by Uri Paz (38), considered one of the promising up-and-coming executives at Bank Hapoalim. He currently manages the bank’s Sharon region. A few weeks ago he was promised the post of CEO of Isracard Ltd., but his promotion within the bank means that the bank’s credit card subsidiary will have to resume its search for a new CEO.
Bank Hapoalim’s board has also appointed Lilach Asher-Topilsky (37) to head the bank’s Center for Strategic Management, and as a member of the bank's board of management. She is considered one of the young and promising executives in Israeli banking and a rising star at the bank. In February, the “Globes” banking project predicted that she would be promoted to this position within two years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 30, 2007
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