Bezeq acting CEO steps down, board nominates Gabay
JERUSALEM, June 3 (Reuters) - Bezeq Israel Telecom (BEZQ.TA), the country's dominant phone company, said on Sunday Acting Chief Executive Ika Abravanel has decided to step down.
Bezeq's board will put forward Bezeq International CEO Avi Gabay as a candidate in an upcoming meeting to discuss a replacement for Abravanel, the company said in a statement.
Abravanel had been appointed acting CEO after the company's former CEO Jakob Gelbard resigned. Abravanel had previously served as the company's deputy CEO.
Gelbard announced his resignation after an external auditor's report published in April found that management was negligent in failing to depreciate old equipment at mobile phone unit Pelephone, and that Bezeq did not carry out proper procedures in granting options and bonuses to executives.
Gelbard had been head of Pelephone before becoming CEO of Bezeq following its privatisation.
Bezeq's shares were down 0.5 percent in morning trade, compared with gains of 0.7 percent in the broader Tel Aviv bourse.
((Reporting by Sergio Tjong-Alvares, editing by Alex Richardson; Jerusalem newsroom, +972 2 632 2221, sergio.tjong-alvares@reuters.com)) Keywords: BEZEQ RESIGNATION/
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