PANAMA CITY, Panama, April 26, 2007 – Former Comptroller General Dani Ariel Kuzniecky Barsky officially assumed his new position as chairman of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board of Directors at an inaugural ceremony conducted at the presidential palace last Monday.

At the inauguration, Mr. Kuzniecky, who will concurrently hold the rank of Minister for Canal Affairs, stated that “one of my commitments will be to preserve the pride and international prestige that Panama has gained as a result of the ACP’s management of the waterway.”

Panamanian President Martín Torrijos Espino had previously expressed that Mr. Kuzniecky’s appointment is significant since “the Canal expansion is the most important project for this government and the country.”

Among the first duties in his new role, Mr. Kuzniecky headed an ACP commission to present the second quarterly expansion report to the National Assembly of Panama.

He also presided over the ACP Board of Directors meeting, where the proposal to restructure the Panama Canal’s pricing system for the next three years was approved. Following the decision made by the Board, Mr. Kuzniecky submitted the proposal to the Cabinet Council of the Republic of Panama, which later provided final approval on the proposal Wednesday afternoon.

A partner at Kuzniecky & Levy Co., Mr. Kuzniecky received his M.S. in comparative jurisprudence from New York University. He conducted post-graduate work at Harvard Law School and earned a degree in law and political science from the Universidad Santa Maria La Antigua – Panama.

During his service to the government, the National Assembly of Panama appointed Mr. Kuzniecky as Comptroller General of Panama, a position he held from January 2005 until April 2007. In this role, he presided over the Central American and Caribbean Superior Comptroller Entities (OCCEFS) and acted as Executive Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Superior Comptroller Entities (OLACEFS).

Moreover, he is a member of various professional organizations including the International Association of Attorneys, International Association of Hebrew Attorneys and Jurors and the National College of Attorneys. In 2006 he received the “Complete Attorney of the Year” Award by the Universidad Santa María la Antigua.

Mr. Kuzniecky sits on the Nutrehogar Board of Directors and has served as professor of philosophy and law at the Universidad Santa María La Antigua.

A published author of children’s books, he is married and the father of three children.

About the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
The ACP is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP’s Web site: www.pancanal.com.