Ukrainian Railways to get full-fledged CEO next week, minister says

The Cabinet of Ministers is going to approve a candidate
for the position of Ukrainian Railways’ (RAILUA) CEO at its meeting on Aug. 19,
Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said on Aug. 13, as reported by
Interfax-Ukraine. He said that the ministry is going to receive a CEO
nomination from the company’s supervisory board on Aug. 13. Later on the same
day, former CFO of Ukrainian Railways Andriy Riazantsev wrote in his blog that
the company’s supervisory board voted to nominate Volodymyr Zhmak as the new
CEO, with six out seven board members having supported this nomination. Zhmak
is currently a supervisory board member of Ukraine’s largest airport, Boryspil.
He has occupied various top positions in Ukraine’s leading mobile operator and
an oil company. He also served as deputy Odesa administration head Mikheil
Saakashvili in 2015.

Recall, the company’s CEO Yevhen Kravtsov was dismissed by Ukraine’s previous Cabinet in late January,
replacing him with acting CEO Željko Marček. In
mid-April, the new Cabinet replaced Marček with another acting
CEO, Ivan Yuryk.

Alexander Paraschiy: It is encouraging that the company will have a full-fledged CEO soon,
which would enable the company to go on with long-term reforms. Whether this
will be Zhmak or another person, it is important that the new top-manager has
good connections with the Cabinet, as a lot of important changes in the company
will require amendments to the regulatory environment.