The Supervisory Board of Augstsprieguma tīkls AS (AST), Latvia’s transmission system operator, has appointed Baiba Priedīte as a Member of the Management Board responsible for development. She will take up her position at AST on 1 September 2026.

“AST’s strategic priorities are the security and resilience of electricity supply, the development of the transmission grid, and market integration. To achieve these objectives, it is essential for AST to integrate new electricity producers into the transmission grid, connect energy-intensive consumers, develop new interconnections, and continue the digitalisation of the transmission system. The addition of Baiba Priedīte to AST’s management team will make a significant contribution to achieving these objectives,” says Olga Bogdanova, Chair of the AST Supervisory Board.

Baiba Priedīte has almost 20 years of experience in the energy and banking sectors, including experience in managing change and supporting business growth. She served for 10 years as a Member of the Management Board of the energy company Sadales tīkls AS, where she was responsible for strategically important areas including the electricity market, project and process management, technological development, innovation management, electricity metering, and customer service. She has also served as Head of Business Processes at SEB banka AS. B. Priedīte holds a professional master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Rīga Stradiņš University, as well as a professional qualification in law, specialising in international law, from the RIMPAK Livonija Business Institute.

“At the same time, the Supervisory Board expresses its appreciation to Arnis Daugulis, the outgoing Member of the Management Board responsible for development, for his significant contribution to the successful and secure synchronisation of the Baltic power grids with the Continental European power system. Under his leadership, a number of strategically important infrastructure projects have been implemented, including Latvia’s interconnections with Estonia, synchronous condensers, battery energy storage systems, and Latvia’s main power system control and data centre. He has also overseen the development of network management systems that support the secure operation of the power system,” emphasises O. Bogdanova.

As previously reported, in view of the expiry of Arnis Daugulis’s term of office, the AST Supervisory Board launched an open selection process for the position of Member of the Management Board responsible for development. Mr Daugulis’s term of office ended on 14 July 2026. To ensure continuity in the work of the Management Board, the AST Supervisory Board appointed him as an interim Member of the Management Board from 15 July 2026 until the appointment, following the selection process, of a Member of the Management Board responsible for development for a full term of office. Mr Daugulis will continue to perform the duties of interim Member of the Management Board until 31 August 2026.

From 1 September 2026, AST’s management team will continue to operate with four Management Board members: Rolands Irklis, Chairman of the Management Board, and Management Board members Imants Zviedris, Gatis Junghāns, and Baiba Priedīte.

On the Selection Process for the Management Board Member Responsible for Development

A total of 41 applications were received in the competition announced by the AST Supervisory Board for the position of Management Board Member for Development. In the second round of the competition, the 11 shortlisted candidates were required to prepare their strategic vision on AST’s key future challenges, outlining the main priorities and proposals for their implementation.

The mandatory minimum requirements for candidates included an academic higher education degree or second-level professional higher education in engineering, natural sciences, law, management, information technology or another comparable field. Candidates were also required to have at least three years of continuous work experience in a management position at a medium-sized or large company or institution, as well as experience in managing IT functions or large infrastructure projects with a total value of at least one million euros. Additional preferred requirements included experience in change management and the implementation of innovation, the use of digital and information technologies, process optimisation, improvement and efficiency enhancement, as well as an understanding of current IT development trends, energy sector development trends, the regulatory environment governing the sector and the energy sector as a whole.

In the third round of the selection process, the management competencies of four candidates were assessed in the following areas: results orientation, development orientation, change management, team leadership, and building and maintaining positive relationships. Results orientation and development orientation were identified as the key competencies. The Nomination Committee decided to recommend two candidates who had achieved the highest scores across all three rounds of the selection process for further consideration by the AST Supervisory Board.

The selection and evaluation process for the position of AST Management Board Member for Development was carried out by the Nomination Committee in cooperation with the recruitment company SIA “Eiro Personāls”. Candidates could apply for the competition from 9 March to 30 March 2026.

The selection and evaluation of candidates for the position of AST Management Board Member for Development was carried out by a Nomination Committee composed of Olga Bogdanova, Chair of the AST Supervisory Board; Juris Zīvarts, Member of the AST Supervisory Board; Laura Līne, Legal Counsel at the State Chancellery’s Cross-Sectoral Coordination Department, State-Owned Enterprise Governance Division; Agnese Strode, Head of the Policy Planning Division at the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia; Sigita Škapare, Member of the Management Board of the State Ltd “Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre”; and Lilita Vagele, Chair of the Latvian Trade Union “Enerģija”.