El Al Israel Airlines named former air force chief as CEO

commander-in-chief Eliezer Shkedi will replace Haim Romano as chief executive from January 2010
 
El Al Israel Airlines said last Wednesday it had appointed former Israeli air force commander-in-chief Eliezer Shkedi as chief executive from January 2010.
 
Shkedi will replace Haim Romano who announced last month he would step down after five years in the job. Shkedi gained his B.Sc. in mathematics and computer science at Ben Gurion University. In mid 1990s he studied for an M.A. in system management at the US naval Postgraduate school.
 
Israeli media have said one of the main reasons for the departure of Romano was the non-stop battle with labor unions, which fought his attempts to lower wage costs by 10%.