"Ilan Ben-Dov said what he said to the press about his wish to see management and me stay on in our jobs, but that's one of the things that we'll have to examine when Ilan comes to the company," Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) CEO David Avner told "Globes" today in an exclusive interview.
"We've reached a crossroads, and it's natural to see how things will develop from here on," he added.
Avner said, "Both parties will have to take joint decisions. I'll think about Ilan's statements in the press, and I won't go into what passed between us, but nothing is obvious about my staying on at Partner." Avner did say that the identity of the new company chairman would affect his decision whether or not to stay.
Asked if Partner would lose its focus as a result of the change in control, Avner replied, "People are constantly looking for signs of loss of focus at Partner. We're at the forefront, and I fail to understand or see any loss of focus. It's true that the process demands a greater effort, but Partner has strong management and we have the opposite of a loss of focus. We're not stagnating: actually it's the market that is stagnating.
"One idea is to intensify the pressure at work, and that's what we have done. Adrenalin generates even better results. We made sure that there would be more work, so employees and managers have less time to trade in gossip and questions about what will happen the day after."
And what will happen the day after? Avner: "I'm not worried that Partner will stop, because I strongly believe in the company. I hope that even better things will happen at the company. The change is welcome, and despite concerns and uncertainty, it could be that it will be even better."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 13, 2009
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