Osem Investments Ltd. (TASE: OSEM) CEO Gazi Kaplan has tendered his resignation, effective April 2, citing heath reasons. He was in the post for six years. He will be succeeded by VP Itzik Tzaig. Kaplan will continue as a director of the company.
Kaplan said, "For the past six years, Osem and its employees have been like family to me, to whom I feel a commitment, love, and pride. The decision to pass the management baton was hard and emotional, but necessary as the good of the company is the priority. This is a demanding, almost total, job. Achieving our vision and targets for the company requires full-time availability and long hours, which I cannot provide at this time. I therefore asked the board of director to retire and to place the next challenges in the sure hands of the new CEO."
Osem chairman Dan Propper said, "Gazi bravely and nobly chose the good of the company over his personal desire to continue leading the company."
Tzaig (56) has held a number of jobs at Osem over the past 21 years, including CEO of Sabra Salads, Osem VP marketing, and CEO of the company's commercial unit. He also served as manager of Nestlé New Zealand Ltd. for three years, before returning to Israel less than a year ago to manage the Osem brand.
Nestlé SA (SWX:NESN) owns 58.8% of Osem. Osem's share price rose 0.4% in morning trading to NIS 54.51, giving a market cap of NIS 6 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 13, 2012
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