TEL-AVIV, Israel, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

ICL (TASE:ICL), a multinational fertilizer and specialty chemicals company, today announced that it has made a number of management appointments in light of the announced retirement of Mr. Yossi Shahar (63), ICL's Executive VP, Corporate Development, since 2008, which was announced in December 2011 and is scheduled for March 31, 2012, and that of Mr. Nathan Dreyfuss (60), VP Finance since 1994, who has requested to step down from his position as of April 30, 2012.  

• Mr. Shahar will be replaced by Mr. Avi Doitchman, currently Executive VP and CFO, who will be appointed Executive VP, CFO and Strategy, and will be responsible for corporate development, strategy and regulatory affairs of the Company. Mr. Doitchman will be assisted by ICL's current Controller, Mr. Amir Benita, who will be promoted to the position of VP Accounting; by Mr. Hezi Israel, who will be promoted to the position of VP Business Development and Strategy; and by Mr. Yakir Menashe, Adv., who will be promoted to the new position of VP Regulatory Affairs and Compliance.

• Mr. Dreyfuss will be replaced by Mr. Michael Hazzan, who will be promoted to the position of VP Finance.

The new Vice Presidents, who will all report to Mr. Doitchman, are ICL employees that have excelled in middle-management positions and bring unique professional skills to ICL's management team. The new appointments are in line with ICL's succession policy, which calls for bringing an increasing number of younger managers into senior management and for promoting talent from "inside" the Company where possible to provide incentivizing career development opportunities for current employees.

The position of VP Regulatory Affairs and Compliance is a new position which will be responsible for all of the Company's activities related to global regulations and enforcement issues, both in Israel and throughout the world. The position was created in light of the increased importance of the subject on a global basis, and the uncompromising commitment with which ICL regards regulatory compliance and environmental protection.

• Yakir Menashe, Adv. (40) has served as Assistant to the CEO for the past six years. Mr. Menashe holds a B.A. in Law from the College of Management, and worked previously for the law firm Efrati Galili and Partners, where he specialized in securities law, transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.

• Michael Hazzan, CPA (46) has worked for ICL's Department of Finance for 18 years, including five years as the Company's Group Treasurer. Mr. Hazzan holds a B.A. in Economics from Tel Aviv University and an M.A. in Economics from Bar Ilan University.

• Hezi Israel (44) has served for the past five years as VP Strategy and Business Development for ICL Industrial Products. Previously, from 2000-2007, Mr. Israel served at Teva in the areas of business development and global merger and acquisition activity. From 2003-2007, he was the head of Teva's business development department and a member of the executive management team of the international group. Mr. Israel holds an M.B.A. from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Tel Aviv University.

• Amir Benita, CPA (38) has served during the past five years as ICL's Controller. Previously, from 2001-2009, Mr. Benita served as a lecturer for the College of Management, and as a senior manager for the Ernst & Young accounting firm.  Mr. Benita is a CPA and holds a B.A. in Business Management from the College of Management.

About ICL

ICL is one of the world's leading fertilizer and specialty chemicals companies. For a world challenged by population growth and scarce resources, ICL makes products that increase global food and water supplies and improve industrial materials and processes.

ICL produces approximately a third of the world's bromine and is the 6th largest potash producer in the world. ICL is a leading supplier of fertilizers in Europe and a major player in specialty fertilizer market segments. One of the world's most integrated manufacturers and suppliers of phosphate products, ICL has become the world's leading provider of pure phosphoric acid and a major specialty phosphate player.

ICL is comprised of three core segments: ICL Fertilizers, ICL Industrial Products and ICL Performance Products. Its major production activities are located in Israel, Europe, the US, South America and China, and are supported by major global marketing and logistics networks. ICL benefits from exclusive concessions to extract minerals from Israel's Dead Sea, a vast source of high-quality and low-cost potash, bromine, magnesium chloride and sodium chloride.  ICL also mines phosphate rock from Israel's Negev Desert and potash and salt from its mines in Spain and the UK.

ICL's shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: ICL).

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SOURCE ICL - Israel Chemicals Ltd