Dov Kotler to step down as CEO of Bank Hapoalim after five years

Bank Hapoalim CEO Dov Kotler has announced that he is stepping down, after five years in the position. The date of Kotler’s departure will be determined later, in accordance with progress in the process of appointing his replacement.

The bank’s board of directors has appointed a search committee to find a new CEO, headed by the board chairperson, Reuven Krupik. The committee’s other members are Ronit Abramson Rokach, David Avner, and Noam Hanegbi.

In a letter to the bank’s employees, Kotler wrote that he had decided to embark on a new path. “I had the privilege of managing a group of committed and professional workers during periods full of challenges, crisis management, and achievements,” he said.

Kotler has worked for over 40 years in banking and finance, 20 of them in the CEO role. He holds a BA in economics and an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and is a graduate of the Harvard University Executive Program.

Kotler was CEO of Visa-CAL from 2000 to 2003, CEO of

Union Bank of Israel from 2003 to 2005, CEO of Prizma from 2006 to 2007, and Isracard from 2009 to 2015.

The leading candidates to replace Kotler from within Bank Hapoalim are Yadin Antebi, deputy CEO and head of financial markets and international banking, and Dalit Raviv, deputy CEO and head of retail banking. Also in the running is Golan Sherman, former Hapoalim deputy CEO and head of the innovation and strategy division who took unpaid leave in June 2022 after 27 years at the bank.

From outside the bank, a leading candidate is Shmulik Arbel, who stepped down as Bank Leumi deputy CEO and head of the banking division last year. He was a candidate for the CEO position at Israel Discount Bank, but ultimately did not get the job.