Interpipe appoints new CEO

Interpipe (INTHOL), Ukraine’s largest pipe and railway
wheel producer, appointed Franz Josef Marx as its new CEO effective Feb. 1,
according to the company’s press release from the same date.

Fadi Hraibi, Interpipe’s previous CEO, will continue
to chair Interpipe’s Board of Directors.

Marx has appropriate expertise to promote Interpipe’s
position in export markets, according to Hraibi as cited in the release. Marx
previously was a partner at BCG and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, and
held managerial and board positions in several Russian and international
large-scale industrial companies, the release said.

Dmytro Khoroshun: One of the
directions for Marx might be preparing Interpipe for an ownership change or
similar large-scale corporate deals.

We have long speculated that Victor Pinchuk, the
ultimate beneficiary owner of the company, might want to sell his Ukrainian
assets, including Interpipe.