On 15th January, 2018, the shareholders of RB Rail AS – Rail Baltic Estonia OU, Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas SIA and Rail Baltica statyba UAB – have approved a new Supervisory Board with the following members: Riia Sillave, CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia, Edvīns Bērziņš, Chairman of the Board of Latvijas Dzelzceļš VAS, Anti Moppel, Member of Supervisory Board of Rail Baltic Estonia OU, Karolis Sankovski, CEO of Rail Baltica Statyba UAB, Vineta Rudzīte, Deputy Legal Director on administrative issues and Head of Secretariat of Presidents’ Council of Latvijas Dzelzceļš VAS, and Arenijus Jackus, Director of Rail Baltica Coordination Department at Lietuvos geležinkeliai UAB.
The Estonian shareholder had decided to recall one of its representatives Indrek Orav and instead to appoint Riia Sillave at the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS. In such instance the whole Supervisory Board had to be recalled and a new one to be appointed.
The Supervisory Board appointed Riia Sillave to fill the duties of Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS while Edvīns Bērziņš and Karolis Sankovski were approved to be the Vice-Chairmen of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS.
Being elected as the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS, Riia Sillave notes that the main objective of the Supervisory Board is to support the company to construct Rail Baltica railway in a timely manner and within the given financial term. “I am glad that the three Baltic States have shown a good cooperation in the preparatory phase. During my chairmanship of the RB Rail’s Supervisory Board I will focus on the project’s technical design progress”, emphasizes R. Sillave.
The Supervisory Board is comprised of six members – two members nominated by each shareholder. The Board members are elected for the period of three years. The Shareholder Agreement stipulates that the Supervisory Board each year is chaired by a representative of a different member state of the joint venture on a rotating basis. In 2018 the country holding the presidency is Estonia.
Riia Sillave background
Riia Sillave is holding the position of CEO for Rail Baltic Estonia, one of the three implementing companies for the Rail Baltica project. Her extensive knowledge of project management she has gained from the launch of the greenfield BCTMP pulp mill AS Estonian Cell with the startup date of 2006 – the biggest foreign investment to Estonia, being the first employee and Member of the Management Board. From 2012 to 2017 she was employed in the headquarter of the shareholder of AS Estonian Cell being the Chief Financial Officer of Heinzel Group, a major pulp and paper production and sales corporate group in Austria. During her career previously, from 1997 until 2004, she has worked also as Controlling Manager for the headquarter of the German automotive company Webasto Thermosysteme GmbH in Stockdorf near Munich, Germany. Returning to the home country, she has joined the Rail Baltica project in December 2017 and in 2018 she holds additionally the Chair of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS.
Riia Sillave has obtained her diploma in business administration at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany.