Bezeq employees oppose Stella Handler CEO appointment

Bezeq workers committee chairman Shlomo Kfir: I told Shaul Elvotich that there are excellent executives at Bezeq who should have preference over an outsider.

30 January 13 11:11, Gad Perez

Opposition to the appointment of Stella Handler as CEO of Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) is widening. Bezeq workers committee chairman Shlomo Kfir believes the appointment would be a mistake, and that Bezeq’s controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch should appoint a person from within the company. He said that he told Elovitch that there were excellent executives at Bezeq who should have preference over an outsider.Kfir told “Globes” that he regretted the resignation of Bezeq CEO Avi Gabbay, and that in view of the challenges facing the company, everything should have been done to keep him. Kfir expressed concern about the message that Handler’s appointment was sending, because she is switching sides and leaving a rival carrier (Hot Telecommunication Systems Ltd.) without a proper cooling-off period.

It is doubtful, however, whether Bezeq’s workers committee will actually take steps to block the appointment.

Bezeq executives believe that when Handler’s appointment is sent to the board of directors for approval, it will face objections from some directors, and some of the company’s public shareholders may also object on the grounds that the appointment was not made for purely professional reasons.

Since it was learned that Elovitch considers Handler as a worthy candidate for Bezeq’s CEO, the company’s management has been depressed. In private conversations, executives have expressed bitter disappointment, and many are wondering about their careers at the company.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on January 30, 2013

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