Eli Cohen Decides to Step Down as CEO of Mekorot

In recent news, the CEO of the well-known Mekorot national water company, Eli Cohen, made an announcement revealing that he will be stepping down as the chairman of the corporation. His withdrawal is set to take place as soon as February ends. By that time, he will have served four and a half years in this position. During Cohen’s tenure, Mekorot recorded a handful of significant milestones. These included completion and reform of the efficiency plan that the company needed, as well as structural changes in the economy of water. 

In addition, the national water company was able to make substantial investments in the development program, thereby doubling them to NIS 1.5 billion per year. The CEO initiated another plan, which included the sale of a bunch of assets to cut down on the water costs being incurred by the company. This outline was formed to benefit the citizens of the State of Israel and led to an increase in Mekorot’s equity by no less than 11%. Once the company was listed on the stock exchange, the national water company successfully raised a sum of NIS 3billion for its strategic development plans. Moreover, these funds were used to launch an innovation unit and gain an entry into startups. 

The investment made for the latter totaled half a billion shekels. Under Cohen’s leadership, Mekorot was able to develop and accelerate its international activity. He also ensured that emphasis was placed on the promotion of historic agreements with the Kingdom of Bahrain, India, as well as other countries. The current CEO also focused on carrying out major infrastructure activities. These included the new national carrier, connecting remote areas and Jordan Valley to the national carrier, and developing the fifth water supply system in Jerusalem. 

The CEO went on to thank the workers of Mekorot, its professionals, as well as all the dedicated people working in the company, who have become like a second family to him. He praised them for working all day and night to help facilitate the revolution that has occurred in the company. According to Cohen, the company has become one of the topmost national water companies in the world and will continue to power on ahead. He further added that it was a privilege for him to be a CEO of such a company in a time as challenging as the coronavirus pandemic. However, he expressed that it was time for his role to end and for him to walk away from all that the company had managed to accomplish. 

In other news, the city of Tel Aviv has surpassed Paris as the most expensive city in the world. This was reported by the Economist Intelligence Unit in a new study that it recently published. As per the data, the rising prices in the city have contributed to the increase in the cost of living in the city, especially in the last five years. The 2021 index of EIU, which follows the cost of living in no less than 173 cities in the world, ranked Tel Aviv at the top from fifth place.