Appointments Committee Rejects Acting CEO for Cross-Israel Highway
The Government Companies Appointments Committee rejected Guy Loyan's appointment as acting CEO of Cross-Israel Highway, citing an irreconcilable structural conflict of interest with his role as chief legal counsel.
The Government Companies Appointments Committee, headed by retired Judge Shulamit Dotan, has decided to reject the appointment of Guy Loyan as acting CEO of Cross-Israel Highway (Hokhech Israel). Loyan has been serving as acting CEO since the departure of former CEO Dan Schenbach in May 2026.
The committee determined that while Loyan meets the threshold requirements for the position, there is a fundamental structural conflict of interest because he simultaneously serves as the company's chief legal counsel and gatekeeper. Consequently, Loyan's tenure as acting CEO ends immediately, leaving the company without a chief executive.
Structural Conflict of Interest
Loyan, who has served as general counsel and legal VP at the company since June 2021, was appointed acting CEO by the board of directors following Schenbach's resignation. The board initially intended for him to serve temporarily until a permanent CEO is appointed—a process stalled due to the Government Companies Authority's plan to merge the company with other entities.
The committee stressed that the issue is not professional, but structural. A CEO holds senior managerial and executive powers, whereas legal counsel must remain an independent professional and regulatory gatekeeper. Holding both roles simultaneously creates an irreconcilable conflict of interest.
Flawed Oversight and External Counsel
To address the issue, the board attempted a division of powers based on an opinion from the Goldfarb Gross Seligman law firm, transferring some legal advisory duties to two internal lawyers and appointing the firm as legal counsel to the board.
However, the committee sharply criticized this arrangement, noting that the selection process for the external firm was opaque, supervision mechanisms were unclear, and Loyan himself is a former employee of Goldfarb Gross Seligman.
"The board of directors did not thoroughly weigh the risks arising from splitting the roles nor did it examine the possibility of appointing one of the company's other vice presidents as acting CEO," the committee stated.
The decision comes against the backdrop of the Government Companies Authority's push to merge the company into another executive arm of the Ministry of Transportation, a plan currently awaiting a government decision after the upcoming elections. Meanwhile, no tender for a permanent CEO has been issued due to election-period restrictions.
