Israeli shipping company Zim has appointed Yair Seroussi as its new chairman.

Seroussi replaces Aharon Fogel, who is stepping down after serving in the position for more than six years.

The appointment was approved at the Haifa-based company’s shareholders meeting on Thursday.

Seroussi takes on the job after holding various senior positions in both the public and private sectors.

He previously served as chairman of Israel’s largest bank — Bank Hapoalim — from 2009 to 2016.

Prior to that, he was head of Morgan Stanley Israel for 16 years. He has also worked as chairman and board member of various stock-listed companies in Israel and on the US-based Nasdaq stock exchange.

Useful attributes

Those attributes are seen as useful at a time when the Israeli liner company is looking to strengthen its capital structure.

That is understood to include possible recourse to private or public equity markets, as well as possible issuance of debt.

Zim's new chairman Yair Seroussi. Photo: Zim

Seroussi currently serves as chairman of Enlight Renewable Energy, a fast-growing company that is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

He joins the liner operator at a time when improving container shipping markets give Zim the chance to take up more financing opportunities.

Zim president and chief executive Eli Glickman is believed to be looking at the possibility of listing on an overseas exchange early next year.

This would be the fourth attempt by the company to list on a stock exchange, following aborted attempts to go public in 2008, 2011 and 2016.

Earlier this week, Zim bought back part of its bondholder debt at a reduced price.

Bonds with a face-value of $54. 4m were purchased for a price of just 80 cents to the dollar, or just $43.5m.

Zim recently reported its best quarterly results since 2010 with a big jump in second-quarter profit to $25.3m. The company expects its results for the remainder of the 2020 financial year to be significantly improved on past results.

These will be helped by seasonal factors that traditionally boost the container market.