The Ministry of Energy begins the selection of the members of the supervisory board of the company EPSO-G. For the first time, personnel selection and corporate governance professionals were invited to take part in the process. The selection itself will be as public as possible.
The governance of the EPSO-G group of companies is being improved according to the most up-to-date recommendations of international organisations. The recommendations, in addition to other matters, suggest forming a supervisory board and the board that would include independent professionals. The supervisory board of EPSO-G will consist of five members, including two independent ones. The chairperson of the supervisory board will be elected from among independent members.
Candidates for the supervisory board will be selected by the selection committee formed by the Ministry of Energy, the shareholder of EPSO-G. The members of the committee are three representatives of the Ministry of Energy, a representative of the State-Owned Enterprises Governance Coordination Centre of the state enterprise Turto bankas, and two independent experts in personnel selection and corporate governance.
“One of the essential features of the governance of state-owned enterprises in the Nordic countries is trust when carefully selected professionals without political connections are appointed to collegiate bodies and the selection process is entrusted to personnel selection experts.
The fact that the Ministry of Energy draws on the experience of the Nordic countries and plans to appoint independent professionals to the collegiate bodies of EPSO-G is something to be pleased about. Although independent board members are not news in Lithuanian state-owned enterprises, the Ministry of Energy was the first to include personnel selection and corporate governance experts in the selection committee formed by the shareholder, thereby ensuring the depoliticisation and professionalism of the selection process,” said Paulius Martinkus, the president of the association “Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance” and a member of the selection committee of the EPSO-G supervisory board.
The managing partner of the executive search company “AIMS International Lietuva” and a member of the selection committee of the EPSO-G supervisory board Šarūnas Dyburis emphasised that the example of EPSO-G has wider implications for the market as well.
“It will help to set the standards of forming supervisory boards and other collegiate bodies in state-owned enterprises and will likely set an example for enterprises in the private sector, too. Effective separation of owners from the implementing body increases transparency and promotes trust in the company. The strategy that was selected by EPSO-G is based on good practices of countries that have made the most progress in this sphere,” added Š. Dyburis.
The applications of candidates for the supervisory board of EPSO-G are accepted for 30 days after announcing the selection (the 2nd of February). More information about the selection, the requirements for candidates, the good repute and independence declaration form, and the criteria for the evaluation of candidates are available on the following website: http://enmin.lrv.lt.
The company UAB “EPSO-G” owns 96.6 per cent of shares of the gas transmission system operator AB “Amber Grid” and 97.5 per cent of shares of the electricity transmission system operator AB “Litgrid”. 100 per cent of EPSO-G shares are owned by the state of Lithuania. The shares are controlled by the Ministry of Energy.
