Bezeq Israel Telecom names former head of chief rival as CEO

TEL AVIV, March 6 (Reuters) - Bezeq Israel Telecom on Wednesday named Stella Handler, previously the chairwoman of its chief competitor, HOT Telecommunications, as its new chief executive.

Handler succeeds Avi Gabbay, who announced in January he would step down. Handler will take over as CEO of Israel's largest telecoms group in April.

"Stella is one of the most experienced and esteemed managers in the Israeli economy in general and the communications market in particular," Bezeq Chairman Shaul Elovitch said in a statement.

Bezeq has undergone deep changes in the past few years as Israel's telecom industry has faced increased competition.

Its net profit fell 38 percent in the third quarter as its mobile phone unit suffered intense competition from the entry of six new operators, which sparked a price war.

Bezeq also faces increased competition in the landline phone market, in which it was once a monopoly.

(Reporting by Tova Cohen; editing by John Wallace)