Changes to the RB Rail AS Supervisory Board

In accordance with the annual rotation chairmanship principle, RB Rail AS, the joint venture responsible for Rail Baltica, announced the appointment of Sandor Liive as the Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, effective January 1st, 2024. Concurrently, Ligita Austrupe, who previously served as chairwoman and member of the Supervisory Board, has communicated her decision to step down.

The Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS is composed of six members, each serving a three-year term. Two candidates from each shareholder—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—are nominated, pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders. As stipulated in the Shareholder Agreement, the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board rotates annually among representatives from different member states of the joint venture. Currently, the RB Rail AS Supervisory Board consists of 5 members, and the recruitment process for the remaining member from the Latvian representation, will be conducted by the shareholder of RB Rail AS, “Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas.”

Mr. Liive, co-founder of GridiO, a virtual power plant platform, and Chairman of Fermi Energia, a project development company for Europe’s first small modular nuclear reactor. Additionally, he serves on the Supervisory Board of Nordecon, a publicly listed construction company, and Tuleva, a social startup managing members’ pension assets. Prior to founding GridiO, Sandor Liive spent nine years as CEO of Eesti Energia, transforming it from a local monopoly into an international energy business. Before his CEO role, he served as CFO of Eesti Energia for seven years and previously held the position of CFO at the Port of Tallinn.

“First of all, I extend my genuine appreciation to Mrs. Ligita Austrupe for her skilled and efficient leadership as the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board leading through this transformative phase of Rail Baltica global project. Assuming the chairmanship comes with a profound sense of responsibility, and I am committed to support with the ongoing change initiatives, including providing support to RB Rail AS management in areas demanding heightened attention to expedite the delivery of Rail Baltica,” said Sandor Liive.

“I have played an active role in the joint venture’s supervisory board for numerous years, and now it is time for me to make way for a successor corresponding to the next phase of the project. I will continue to support Rail Baltica through my expertise as an industry expert and as an active citizen advocating for this significant infrastructure project. I express my gratitude for the partners’ trust, and I am proud of what we have been able to achieve with the Rail Baltica team,” said Ligita Austrupe.

The newly appointed Supervisory Board has decided to appoint Arnis Kākulis as Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board and Romas Švedas as Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board of RB Rail AS, whereas Arenijus Jackus as the Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee and Arnis Kākulis as the Chairman of Human Resources Committee.