Rail Baltica (RB) is looking for a new CEO to replace Baiba Rubesa, who’s work at the helm of the Baltic joint venture implementing the European standard-gauge railway project has drawn criticism from its shareholders.
According to Baltic News Services (BNS), RB Rail’s shareholders want to bring in a new CEO from Poland or Finland, rather than any of the Baltic states.
“The contract with the current CEO of RB Rail terminates at the end of October. The board is now searching for a replacement,” Riia Sillave, chairperson of the RB Rail supervisory board and CEO at Rail Baltic Estonia, told BNS.
Rail Baltica is a greenfield rail transport infrastructure project with the goal of integrating the Baltic States with the European rail network. The project includes five European Union countries – Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and indirectly also Finland. It will connect Helsinki, Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Panevežys, Kaunas, Vilnius, Warsaw.
Ms Sillave added that the executive search firm Amrop has been contracted to carry out the search in the Baltic states, as well as in Finland and Poland.
“Beside the direct search, an open announcement will be published within the next weeks. The goal is to find the best candidate for the position in this important Rail Baltica implementation phase,” said Ms Sillave.
The decision not to renew Ms Rubesa’s contract comes as no surprise following a vote of no-confidence expressed by both Estonian and Lithuanian shareholders back in February 2018.
