Haim Shani, who was appointed last week by Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz as director general of the ministry, has served for the past eight years as CEO of NICE-Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE:NICE). He is considered one of the country's most valued CEOs and his successor will have especially large shoes to fill. In the wake of Shani's departure some of the company's other most senior executives are also expected to leave.
The role of NICE CEO is one of the most coveted in Israel's high-tech sector. NICE, which has a market cap of $1.35 billion, posted a net profit of $103 million on a revenue of $624 million in 2008.
Shani did not have a clear number two and natural heir at NICE, which means that in the coming period, until a permanent appointment is made, we will hear many names mooted as Shani's possible replacement.
NICE is yet to formally notify the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) or Nasdaq about Shani's departure but the company will clearly be weighing up potential successors. At present, it appears more likely that the new CEO will be somebody brought in from the outside rather than an internal promotion.
A natural candidate would be Verint Systems Inc. (Pink Sheets:VRNT) chairman and CEO Dan Bodner. Verint is a competitor of NICE and like Shani, Bodner has served in the job for many years. He is employed by Verint's parent company Comverse Technology Inc. (Nasdaq:CMVT) and from 1987 to 1994 he served as Comverse CEO and president. It could be that Bodner is ready for a change and now he could have the opportunity to do so.
Another option could be Witness Systems former chairman and CEO David Gold, who in his eight years at the helm transformed the company into the third largest in the sector. Gold led Witness to a successful IPO but was forced to vacate his post after he was involved in an affair to backdate options.
Also in the running could be Zeev Bregman, a former CEO of Comverse, who is currently available.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 12, 2009
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