Psagot Investment House CEO Reuven Kaplan resigns just one year and three months after his appointment. Kaplan announced yesterday his intention to take on new business challenges, noting that he hopes the sale of the investment house will be completed soon. Kaplan’s resignation letter came amid the impossible relationship with Zehavit Cohen, who has the dominant control of Psagot through the Apax Foundation.
This is the fifth senior manager to be replaced in the last decade, since Apax acquired control of the investment house. Before Kaplan, Ronen Tov, Hagai Badash and Barak Sorni were replaced, and even before that, the chairman of the board, Ehud Shapira and Michal Boyanjo Abadi, were replaced, and Erez Nahum was appointed chairman.
Upon his appointment, Kaplan announced the reorganization and implementation of an efficiency plan to reduce 15% of the investment house’s employees. In this context, the structure of the group changed and some of the managers were forced to retire from it. Kaplan himself, who previously managed Amidar and was a senior member of the Clal Insurance Group, will most likely look to his future in the insurance industry.
In recent years, Zehavit Cohen has made a constant effort to sell the investment house or issue it on the stock exchange, but due to difficulties in valuing it, the move was unsuccessful. It should be mentioned that unlike Psagot, Apax’s investment in the Max Stock network has proven to be extremely successful.