How much added value do long-standing executives of listed companies bring?

The expertise and thorough knowledge of a company that a general manager of many years has, can bring added value to investors, but over the course of time such an executive loses some of their objectiveness and ability to quickly adjust to changes in the business world, analysts believe.

Therefore, keeping the same person at the helm of a company for more than ten years can be a risky bet for shareholders, especially when the company is listed and any decision of the management in question ends up making an impact on the rise or fall of shares on the Stock Exchange.

On the Romanian market there are many cases of general managers who have been at the helm of stock exchange-listed companies for over ten years, some even since back when the company was not listed or when the Stock Exchange did not even exist. Such are the cases of Constantin Roibu, general manager and president of chemical plant Oltchim R=mnicu V=lcea (OLT), Gheorghe Dobra, general manager of aluminium producer Alro Slatina (ALR), and of presidents of SIFs (Financial Investment Companies), who were appointed in their positions in the early ’90s and became some of the most influential people in their sectors of activity.

Other famous managers on the Stock Exchange include Dan Ioan Popp, president of real estate developer Impact (IMP) and Ioan Nani, general manager of drug manufacturer Antibiotice Ia[i (ATB), with the two companies losing ground over the last few years to rivals, most of them powerful foreign groups.