Today, the Freeport of Riga Board has approved Regulations of the Freeport of Riga CEO position candidate selection and evaluation competition, which include both requirements for applicants, evaluation criteria and decision-making procedures. The Freeport of Riga Board ruled that the public competition for the CEO position will be launched this year on April 21 and applicants will be able to submit their applications until May 22.
In accordance with the approved Regulations, the competition will be organized in three rounds – during the first round assessment of the applicant's compliance with the general criteria will be checked, the second round will focus on the applicant's specific, industry-related knowledge and skills, while on-site interviews of applicants will take place during the third round. Evaluation of applicants will be carried out by the Freeport CEO position candidate Selection Commission, the most appropriate candidates will be presented to the Freeport of Riga Board for further decision.
The regulations provide that an applicant should have higher academic or second level vocational training in management, finance, economics or engineering, while education, related to the transport sector (port management, transport and logistics) or to maritime activities (navigation, ship steering) would be an advantage. A minimum of 5 years of professional top managerial experience in large-scale capital companies or public institutions or organizations is also required. High standards of language skills were set for an applicant - the highest level of the national language skills, and at least English and Russian language skills.
With regard to the applicant's specific, industry-related skills and knowledge, a deep understanding of the port operation and normative acts, experience in strategic development management, financial and planning issues, as well as experience in international cooperation are required - the applicant will have to justify all the competences in writing. Besides, an applicant shall boast an excellent reputation.
The competition notice, as well as detailed requirements for applicants will be published in the official edition of the Latvian Republic “Latvijas Vēstnesis”, in the newspaper “Dienas Bizness”, on the Freeport of Riga website www.rop.lv, as well as on the State Employment Agency's website www.nva.gov.lv.
At the same time the Freeport Board decided to review the Freeport CEO remuneration. The competitiveness of the FPR CEO remuneration is an essential precondition for suitable candidate choice, given the extensive range of the work, the port size, number of employees and contribution to the national economy, as it was mentioned in the report, which had been previously submitted to the Freeport of Riga Board by the Freeport CEO position candidate Selection Commission. In accordance with the Board decision, it will be comparable to the Ventspils Free Port CEO remuneration.
As previously reported, the Freeport of Riga Board meeting of 22 February adopted a new conceptual decision to organize an open competition to the position of the FPR CEO. The Freeport of Riga CEO position candidate Selection Commission, approved by the Freeport of Riga Board, will evaluate and select the eligible candidates. The Commission will consist of the SJSC “Latvijas Jūras administrācija(Latvian Maritime Administration)” Board Chairman Jānis Krastiņš (Ministry of Transport representative), Head of the Administration of the Ministry of Finance Ieva Braunfelde (Ministry of Finance representative), Director of the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance Andris Grafs (Ministry of Economy representative), Chairman of the limited liability company “Latvijas Vides, ģeoloģijas un meteoroloģijas centrs(Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center)” Kristaps Treimanis (Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry representative), Riga City Council representatives: the Riga City Council Legal Department Director Jānis Liepiņš, the Riga City Council Property Department Commercial Activity Provision Authority Chief Ilze Spūle - Statkus and the Freeport representative Attorney at Law Modris Supe. Mr.Aleksandrs Muhlinkins, Latvian Free Trade Union Vice-President, Ms.Katrīna Zariņa, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board member and the representative of the Latvian Employers Confederation were confirmed in an advisory capacity to the Commission.