Avi Patir to be appointed

April 21, 2004 Avi Patir to be appointed Deputy CEO of and COO for Fixed-Line Communications The organization Committee of the Board of Directors has been asked to approve, at its meeting tomorrow, the appointment of Mr. Avi Patir as Deputy CEO of Bezeq and COO for fixed-line communications, after which the appointment will be presented to the Board of Directors for its approval. Avi Patir (56), is a veteran senior communications man. Among the positions he has held are VP of Engineering and Planning at Bezeq, he was the first CEO of Barak, and prior to that he was CEO of American-Israeli Paper Industries. He has an M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University (New York), and is a retired IDF colonel from the Communications & Electronics Corps. After approval of the appointment, Patir will assume his new post in May. Fixed-line communications is a new array of Bezeq's leading team that is being put in place by the CEO of Bezeq Group, . The position of Chief Operating Officer is well-known in large corporations, and the idea is to strengthen Bezeq's managerial set-up for fixed-line communications, in readiness for the upcoming competition in that field. Dick said that this step is part of the plan to strengthen Bezeq as a communications group, a plan on which he is placing particular emphasis. Together with the heads of the subsidiaries , , Bezeq International and others, he intends to position Bezeq as a group – from all aspects – just as has been done by the world's leading communications groups, such as British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, Telefonica of Spain and others. Patir will report directly to the CEO of the group, and will be responsible for all the operating divisions of Bezeq, and later also for the 'supply chain' and relevant corporate divisions and units. Amnon Dick said that he believes that Patir will make an important contribution to the efforts of Bezeq to come out on top in the domestic competition "As the competition is about to start, it is vital that we combine the superior forces of Bezeq with the very best 'purchasing players' in the industry. Avi Patir is definitely one of those players. He is a central player and leader. I am pleased and grateful for his readiness to join us," said Dick.