Ukrzaliznytsia CEO resigns, Ukraine PM announces

Wojciech Balczun, the CEO of Ukrainian state railway
operator Ukrzaliznytsia (RAILUA), has submitted a resignation request that will
be reviewed at the Aug. 9 Cabinet meeting, Ukrainian PM Volodymyr Grooysman
said this morning. “That is his decision and I respect it,” Groysman said,
adding that it was motivated by personal reasons. He said he expects that
Balczun will become an advisor to the new CEO. The Cabinet will appoint Yevhen
Kravtsov, the deputy infrastructure minister, as the temporary acting CEO until
the new CEO will be selected in a competitive selection process, Groysman said.

Alexander Paraschiy: With
Balczun, an acclaimed manager of Polish origin, Ukrzaliznytsia got a fresh
chance to reform itself and change its business and marketing strategy for the
better. Therefore, his resignation – after just a year and three months – will
likely be treated negatively by RAILUA investors. We still expect that his
replacement will be selected in an open competitive process (just as Balczun
was) and will enjoy the same good image internationally (as Balczun did).

For most of his one-year tenure as CEO, Balczun tried
to optimize the company’s procurement policy, inevitably earning him a lot of
enemies. The most apparent conflict was with Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr
Omelyan, who mentioned the need to replace Balczun in nearly all of his
speeches in the last couple of months.