Oleh Huliak appointed Ukroboronprom CEO

Oleh Huliak has become a chief executive officer at Ukraine’s defense industry giant, Ukroboronprom.

That’s according to the company press service, Ukrinform reports.

The relevant appointment was made by the company’s Supervisory Board: "This was preceded by the search and evaluation of candidates run by the Ukrainian representative office of Odgers Berndtson - an international company specializing in the selection of top managers."

More than 20 people applied for the position, of which three made it to the shortlist. The Supervisory Board conducted final interviews. Representatives from the embassies of the USA, UK, and Germany were involved in the interviews with the applicants from the short list.

"Oleh Huliak is well aware of the Army’s urgent needs and is an experienced leader. The main tasks now facing him are to continue to increase production volumes, complete the reform of the state defense industry sector, and to build an effective anti-corruption infrastructure," said Herman Smetanin, Minister of Strategic Industries.

"It is extremely important for us that the largest state-owned defense company is headed by someone who has experience working in the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and as head of the Logistics Department in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a professional who perfectly understands what exactly is needed for Ukraine’s Defense Forces. He is a real leader: proactive, responsible, and efficient. Therefore, we decided to appoint Oleh Hulyak as company CEO. I am grateful to our partners from Odgers Berndtson for their high-quality work, and to the other candidates for the position – for participating in the competition," said David Lomjaria, chairman of UOP Supervisory Board.

As Huliak emphasized, he is "grateful for the trust to lead Ukroboronprom. Our work is crucial to achieving Victory over the enemy. There is a lot of work, important tasks and new challenges ahead. However, I am confident that together with our team we will achieve the required results."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on September 4, Oleh Huliak became acting director general at UOP, replacing Herman Smetanin, who took over the Ministry of Strategic Industries.