Jamaludin to retire as Celcom Axiata chairman on Oct 15

FILE PHOTO: Axiata Group's deputy group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Izzaddin Idris and its president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim at the media briefing in February.

KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim will retire as Celcom Axiata Bhd chairman on Oct 15.

The chairmanship will be taken over by Datuk Izzaddin Idris, who is currently Axiata executive director, deputy group CEO and group CEO-designate, as well as director on Celcom Axiata's board.

In a statement on Tuesday, Axiata said Jamaludin would continue his role as Axiata president and group CEO until end-December 2020.

"This is a decisive step forward and part of the bigger plan in the smooth and seamless leadership succession plan at Axiata.

"And the boards of Celcom Axiata and Axiata accept this news with heavy hearts as well as with gratitude for Jamaludin’s 12 years of dedicated service to the company," it said.

According to Axiata, Jamaludin has held the position of Celcom’s chairman since the demerger of Celcom and Telekom Malaysia International (TMI) from Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) in 2008.

Jamaludin said after helming the board of Celcom Axiata for more than 12 years, it was timely for him to hand over the reins to Izzaddin.

"This is part of the overall transition plan announced early this year, where Izzaddin will take over all my responsibilities in a planned step-by-step process to ensure a smooth succession, ” he said.

Izzaddin has already overseen several key corporate functions and assumed directorship positions in a few key subsidiaries, including Celcom Axiata.

"Under his able and experienced leadership but with fresh stewardship, Izzaddin, together with the board and Celcom Axiata CEO Idham Nawawi, Celcom Axiata will definitely chart new growth and success," Jamaludin said.

Meanwhile, Izzaddin said he was grateful for the trust of the boards of Axiata and Celcom Axiata and the last nine months had been an exceptional familiarisation experience for him.

"Together with Celcom Axiata’s management under the leadership of Idham, I look forward to carrying its transformation agenda covering operational, financial and strategic aspects of the business," he said.

On Jan 23, Axiata said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that Jamaludin had informed the board of his decision to retire after serving the telecommunications and information and communications technology industry for 39 years.

In the same filing, the telecommunications company said Jamaludin’s contract, which expired on March 2,2020, would be extended until end-2020. - Bernama