OREANDA-NEWS. October 19, 2012. Supervisory Board elections took place at the extraordinary shareholder meeting of Citadele Bank. The existing members of the Supervisory Board, i.e. Klavs Vasks, Laurence Phillip Adams and Geoffrey Richard Dunn, thus acquired new colleagues – Baiba Rubesa and Aldis Greitans. The new members of the Supervisory Board were nominated by State JSC "Privatization Agency", reported the press-centre of Citadele Bank.

As Ansis Spridzans, Chairman of the Board of State JSC “Privatization Agency” pointed out, the elected Supervisory Board as a team possesses all necessary professional skills and competencies to continue implementing good corporate governance principles and to efficiently supervise the work of the Board of Directors in order to achieve the strategic goals of the bank.

Baiba Rubesa possesses extensive international experience in executive posts as well as outstanding communication skills. Currently Ms. Rubesa is vice president for corporate social responsibility matters at “Statoil ASA” (Norway). Ms. Rubesa was CEO of “Latvija Statoil” between 2000 and 2008, and from 2008 until 2010 she was Director for Government & Public Affairs and HSE at “Statoil Azerbaijan”. Baiba Rubesa worked in the Supervisory Board of “DnB NORD” bank from 2002 until 2009. Apart from her professional activity, Ms. Rubesa has taken active part in several NGOs including Foreign Investors’ Council in Latvia, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as Koknese Foundation. Baiba Rubesa acquired her degree in business administration at Shaw College in Toronto, Canada.

Aldis Greitans has more than 20 years of experience in strategic management which he acquired while working at several Latvian banks before 1999 (Parex banka, Latvijas Zemes Banka, Hansabanka, Deutsch - Lettische bank) as well as while developing and managing JSC “Itella Information”, one of the largest providers of outsourced business process services in Latvia, during a period of more than 12 years. Currently Mr. Greitans is a member of the management group of “Itella Information Group”. Aldis Greitans possesses a degree in electric and mechanical engineering from Riga Technical University, and a master degree in business administration from Riga Business School.

In order to select members of Citadele’s Supervisory Board, State JSC “Privatization Agency” established a nomination committee the task of which was to organize a transparent selection procedure which is in line with the Concept for Management of State Capital Shares. The nomination committee consisted of representatives from “Privatization Agency”, the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Finance. Representatives of Society for Openness “Delna” participated in this committee as observers without voting rights. The nomination committee invited organizations which represent the sector, such as Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance as well as the Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia, to suggest candidates for the post.

The committee completed its work in mid-September, and it recommended several candidates whose competence and experience met the determined requirements for the Supervisory Board member post to the Board of Directors of State JSC “Privatization Agency”. During the course of adopting the decision on the candidates for the post of the Supervisory Board member, the Board of Directors of “Privatization Agency” assessed the received recommendations, organized interviews with the candidates recommended by the nomination committee as well as met with the present Supervisory Board members of Citadele Bank which were nominated by “Privatization Agency”. Both “Privatization Agency” and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development acknowledged that the work of Juris Vaskans, the former Supervisory Board member, in Citadele’s Supervisory Council since the establishment of the institution was a valuable contribution, and they appraised his role in the restructuring process of Parex banka while working in the Supervisory Board of Parex.

Shareholders of Citadele bank are State Joint Stock Company “Privatization Agency” and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The shareholders’ resolution on the election of a new composition of the Supervisory Board will become effective after receiving approval from Financial and Capital Market Commission on the compliance of the candidates with the requirements set forth in the Law on Credit Institutions.