Bank Hapoalim (LSE:BKHD; TASE:POLI) head of retail banking and marketing Zvi Ziv was today appointed the new CEO of the bank. "Globes" was the first to report Ziv's candidacy for the post last Sunday.
Shai Talmon, head of the bank's business division, and who until a few weeks ago was considered a leading contender for the CEO position, was also promoted, and he will now be deputy CEO.
Bank Hapoalim chairman Shlomo Nehama said at the press conference convened by the bank today, "The appointment of a CEO who has grown up through the junior ranks to senior management level is a novelty in Israeli banking in the past few decades. This is a badge of honor for him and for the bank. Ziv is the most suitable CEO for Bank Hapoalim, one who will lead the management to achieving our goals. We will continue to be Israel's leading bank, and we will achieve business results on a par with those of the leading banks in the Western world. The candidates were excellent, and the choice was not simple, but in the end it was unanimous. We worked on the principle that the candidate would be chosen with full agreement among all the controlling shareholders, the board of directors, and the search committee. This is not a decision reached by majority vote, but by complete consensus among all the controlling shareholders."
Outgoing CEO Eli Yones said, "Zvi is certainly a worthy appointment. If I were looking for someone to put under the heading strategic management, Zvi would be my first choice. He is a very goal-orientated, professional person."
Ziv said he was very much affected by the occasion, and that he saw in his appointment a vote of confidence not just in himself, but also in the group of managers that had grown up together with him in the bank in the past 30 years.
Shari Arison, chairperson of the bank's largest shareholder the Arison group, who did not participate in the press conference, said, "I give new CEO Zvi Ziv, and the other new appointees, my wholehearted support."
Ziv, 53, joined Bank Hapoalim 29 years ago as an economist in the loans department. He subsequently filled a range of posts, including director for credit in the UK, CEO of Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland), head of corporate banking, and lately head of retail banking and marketing. He has been a member of the bank's executive board since 1998.
Banking sources said today that Bank Hapoalim's chiefs were sending two messages with Ziv's appointment: first, they preferred a CEO who rose through the bank's ranks to an external CEO, as was the case with Eli Yones, who resigned; second, Bank Hapoalim will continue to focus on retail banking in Israel and overseas, where Ziv has held a number of posts.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on August 12, 2003