The Romanian Post’s leadership, officially removed from office

Following several meetings in the last few days, the General Assembly of Shareholders of the Romanian Post has removed from office five of the six members of the company’s Board of Directors alongside the General Manager, Ion Smeeianu.

“During the meetings of the General Assembly of Shareholders (GMS) of the Romanian Post (CNPR) held in June 5, 6 and 10, 2014 which were attended by the delegate of the Ministry for Information Society and the one of Fondul Proprietatea (FP) it was unanimously decided to remove from office the following individuals, as members of the Board of Directors: Ion Smeeianu, Adriana Apolzan, Dinu Malacopol Sava, Andreea Dana Stanescu, Gelil Eserghep, Sorana Baciu”, states a press release from the Ministry.

The decision concerns the recent approval on wage increases which was made without complying with the applicable legal provisions, as well as other issues such as non-compliance with prudence, diligence and loyalty obligations undertaken when appointed in the Board, acting against the company’s best interest, is explained by the said informing.

Subsequent to the dismissal, an interim Board of Directors has been appointed with Ludwik Leszek Sobolewski (CEO of the Bucharest Stock Exchange) as President and Alexandru Petrescu, Dante Stein, Rodica Bîzdoacă, Benoit Pleska, Sorinel Diță and Adrian Cighi as members. Also, Alexandru Petrescu, formerly Executive Director of the Strategy Department, was provisory assigned the General Manager position.

The Romanian Post, the major player in the domestic market, is controlled by the Ministry for Information Society which is the major shareholder (75 percent of the total shares) and Fondul Proprietatea which holds the remainder stake. Its ongoing privatization is expected to be eventually carried out this year, after an unsuccessful attempt.

In the first quarter of this year, the company had an operating profit of 22.5 million lei (about 5 million euro) on streamlining operations and costs, as per the privatization-related business strategy.