Ligita Austrupe, a senior management executive, Head of the Responsible Authority of the administration of the EU funds in Latvia at the Ministry of Transport and active member of RB Rail AS Supervisory Board since 2019, has been elected as the Chairperson of RB Rail AS Supervisory Board and will be replacing the former Chairperson Romas Švedas. The Chairperson’s position is rotating every year, and in 2023 it is going to Latvia.
Ligita Austrupe possesses twenty-year experience in the administration of EU funds, including supervision and audit of the EU funded projects. Various transport infrastructure development projects have been implemented in Latvia under the supervision of the Responsible Authority of the EU funds administration and Connecting Europe Facility Managing Authority, including large scale infrastructure projects in the various transport sectors – ports, airports, roads, and railways. As the Head of the Connecting Europe Facility Managing Authority in Latvia, Ligita Austrupe has ensured monitoring of the implementation of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia.
“As Rail Baltica Global project is maturing, so is the project’s complexity to ensure fast and efficient delivery to secure the Baltic missing railway link and connect our region to the rest of Europe. In the context of current geopolitical challenges and comprehensive agenda that the project needs to accomplish, it is as critical as ever to ensure effective cooperation within Rail Baltica project, reinforce cross-sectoral cooperation formats and strengthen partnership with our neighboring countries – Poland and Finland. I am confident that with the extensive experience in the Global project and vast professional background, Ligita in her new position will contribute significantly to the implementation of Rail Baltica,” said Romas Švedas.
“First, I would like to express my sincere thank you to Romas for a professional and productive chairmanship of the Supervisory Board and other colleagues for the support and cooperation in 2022! With a great sense of responsibility and honour, I am taking over the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board and will do my best to continue the started work, including supporting RB Rail AS management in the areas that require additional focus to speed-up Rail Baltica delivery,” said Ligita Austrupe.
The newly appointed Supervisory Board has decided to appoint Ahti Kuningas as Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Romas Švedas as Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS, whereas Arenijus Jackus as the Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee and Sandor Liive as the Chairman of Human Resources Committee.
The Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS consists of six members elected for a three-year period. Each shareholder from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania nominates two candidates who must be approved by a General Meeting of Shareholders. The Shareholder Agreement stipulates that each year, the Supervisory Board is chaired by a representative of a different member state of the joint venture, on a rotating basis.
The Supervisory Board is separate from the Management Board, which has six members – Chairperson of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief ESG Officer, Chief Programme Management Officer, Chief Technical Officer, and Chief Procurement Officer who jointly represent the joint venture. Management Board members are elected for a term of three years.