Deal Proposed to Move Orly Stern from Ayalon Highways to Israel Railways CEO Role
The deadline for government company appointments is approaching, prompting ministers to rush key nominations before the election period freezes such appointments. Behind the scenes, a deal is reportedly being arranged to transfer Orly Stern, the current CEO of Ayalon Highways, to become the CEO of Israel Railways. This move would free up her position at Ayalon for a new appointment before the election freeze takes effect.
Israel Railways has been in crisis for years, with a strong workers' union linked to ministerial offices, a hostile board toward CEOs, and numerous failed attempts at political appointments and management interference. The last permanent CEO resigned in July last year, and since then the company has been led by acting CEOs. The board chairman, Moshe Shimony, recently ended a turbulent second term and moved to chair Mekorot, leaving Israel Railways without senior leadership.
At Ayalon Highways, a different appointment conflict unfolded last year when Idan David was appointed chairman despite lacking metropolitan transportation experience. David, backed by Minister David Amsalem and Transport Minister Miri Regev, unsuccessfully tried to remove Stern, who is highly regarded within government circles. The government company authority blocked this move and initiated an external audit.
Stern has several months left in her current term, and launching a tender now would allow the board to appoint a new CEO before the election period. The proposed deal offers Stern the Israel Railways CEO role to quickly "rehabilitate the company," enabling a timely appointment at Ayalon. However, Stern reportedly is reluctant to accept the Israel Railways position, possibly due to the company's public and operational challenges. The role was also offered to other CEOs, including Nissim Peretz of Netivei Israel and Itamar Ben Meir of NTA, who declined.
Meanwhile, the appointment of a new Israel Railways chairman is delayed until the CEO is named or elections are announced, whichever comes first. This ongoing leadership vacuum continues amid declining service quality and stalled projects at Israel Railways, with billions of shekels in tenders pending publication.
