Rīga, Latvia, 15 October 2020 – Supervisory Board of the Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS has appointed three new Management Board members for a three-year mandate. The new Management Board will represent all key competencies required for a successful project implementation: project planning and control, technical and engineering excellence, financial planning as well as strategy and stakeholder management.
Agnis Driksna, who served for one year as the interim Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board, has received a permanent mandate and will continue serving in the senior leadership position.
Furthermore, Chief Technical Officer Marc-Philippe El Beze, an experienced international high-speed railway professional will join the Management Board as Chief Technical Officer (starting from 2nd November 2020) and Priit Treial, infrastructure management and development professional, will take the position of Chief Financial Officer (starting from 3rd January 2021).
“Today’s appointment represents another important milestone in the Rail Baltica project implementation”, said Anrī Leimanis, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. “The new leadership team has a wide-ranging experience in technical project implementation and stakeholder relationship management. The incoming Chief Technical Officer Marc-Philippe El Beze, is a seasoned high-speed railway construction manager with decades of hands-on expertise globally.”
Speaking on the appointment of the interim Chief Executive Officer in a permanent capacity, Leimanis emphasized: “Under the leadership of Agnis Driksna the Rail Baltica joint venture has successfully reached key milestones and continued the project delivery under limitations imposed by the COVID-19. This includes a steady progress of the design activities, improved project planning and reporting as well as acquisition of additional EU and national funding. Together with Mark Loader, who joined the company as Chief Program Management Officer in February 2020, Agnis Driksna will ensure the necessary continuity in the project and improved stakeholder relations.”
“I am honoured by the confidence placed in me after having served as an interim Chief Executive Officer for several months. Together with the new board members and the Rail Baltica team, we will focus on finalising the design phase of the project and taking strategic decisions necessary for the beginning of large-scale construction works”, said Agnis Driksna.
Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS would like to thank Ignas Degutis, the outgoing Chief Financial Officer, and Kaido Zimmerman, the outgoing interim Chief Technical Officer, for their contribution to the implementation of the project. Ignas Degutis has been instrumental in securing more than 1bl EUR financing for Rail Baltica, while Zimmerman, who will remain with the company as Head of Planning and Design Department, has effectively overseen the design activities of the Rail Baltica main line.
This executive search was implemented by RB Rail AS international recruitment partner, Linum Consult, following on from their earlier success in recruiting our Chief Programme Management Officer.