Clal Industries Appoints Stan Polovets As Lead Non-Executive Director

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Clal Industries announced the appointment of Stan Polovets to its Board of Directors. Mr. Polovets will serve as Lead Non-Executive Director and assist the management of Clal in a number of key areas, including portfolio management, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic development.

A US businessman with extensive international experience, Mr. Polovets brings to Clal expertise in both the industrial and investment sectors. Until 2013, Mr. Polovets served as the CEO of AAR, a private equity consortium in which Clal's parent company, US-based Access Industries, holds 25%. AAR was half-owner of TNK-BP, one of the ten largest private oil companies in the world. The company accounted for 18% of Russia's oil production, and also had operations in Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Ukraine. TNK-BP was sold for $55 billion in 2013.

Clal Industries is one of Israel's leading holding companies, controlling a portfolio of investments that encompass industrial, manufacturing, advanced technology and consumer-oriented companies. Clal is owned by Access Industries, a privately held international industrial concern with strategic investments in the United States, Europe and South America. Access is owned by American industrialist and philanthropist Len Blavatnik.

Clal Industries Chairman and CEO Avi Fischer said: "Stan brings to Clal a track record of delivering superior shareholder returns and driving value growth through world-class governance, financial discipline and unrelenting focus on operational excellence and safety. The Board will undoubtedly benefit from Stan's global perspective, his sector expertise, and his experience in transforming emerging companies to realize their full potential."

Mr. Fischer added: "I am also well acquainted with Stan's philanthropic activities in Israel, where he spent significant amounts of time over the past 7-8 years. He is a great friend of our country, for whom serving on the Clal board will be an extension of his dedication and commitment to the State of Israel. I am very pleased to have Stan on our Board and look forward to working together."

Mr. Polovets previously worked as a senior executive at the New York global headquarters of Ernst & Young, in the US operations of ExxonMobil, and at The RAND Corporation, an influential US "think-tank." He currently serves as a Lead Director of L1 Energy, a $10 billion energy investment fund headquartered in the UK, which is in the process of completing a $7 billion acquisition of the German oil and gas company, DEA.  DEA has operations across the world, including Norway, UK, Germany, Denmark, and Egypt.

Mr. Polovets is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and member of the President's Global Council at New York University (NYU). He is a graduate of Stanford Graduate School of Business and lives in New York.

"I am delighted to join the Board of Clal Industries, which is undergoing an exciting transformation at this time," said Stan Polovets. "The company has a solid and diverse portfolio across various sectors, and is managed by a highly talented and ambitious executive team. I look forward to working together with the Board and Management of Clal to further unlock the excellent potential of these strategic investments."

An active philanthropist, Mr. Polovets is the Co-founder and Chairman/CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation, which awards an annual $1 million prize to an outstanding individual who exemplifies Jewish achievement and values. The inaugural Genesis Prize was awarded in Jerusalem last May to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

About Clal Industries (Clal)

Established in 1956, Clal Industries Ltd. (Clal) is one of Israel's foremost holding companies, focusing on investments in market-leading companies in key industries. Clal acts to increase shareholder value over the long term by leveraging its financial and managerial expertise as well as its deep understanding of both the Israeli marketplace and the global arena for the benefit of its portfolio companies.

Clal primarily holds enterprise market leaders. In the manufacturing sector, the company's major holdings are in the cement and paper industries. In the advanced technology sector, the company directly holds companies in the semiconductor industry. Additionally, the company operates two specialized areas: one providing an umbrella for activities in bio-technology; the other operating a Venture Capital Fund. 

About Access Industries

Access Industries is a privately held industrial group with long-term holdings in natural resources, chemicals, media, telecoms and real estate. Founded in 1986 by American entrepreneur and philanthropist Len Blavatnik, Access is an international industrial concern with strategic investments in the United States, Europe and South America.

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SOURCE Clal Industries