KUALA LUMPUR (March 14): QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd, the franchise owner of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Malaysia that is said to be again mulling a multi-billion-ringgit IPO, has announced four additions to its board, three of whom are women.

In a statement on Monday (March 14), QSR Brands said it has appointed former IBM Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Chong Chye Neo, Axiata Group Bhd director Khoo Gaik Bee, and Ambank (M) Bhd director Foong Pik Yee to its board.

Chong and Khoo's appointments will take effect this month, while Foong's will take effect on April 1.

As for the fourth board addition, the company said this is a member who is “joining from abroad” and is “a former regional fast-food head”, adding the details of the appointment will be announced soon.

QSR Brands is controlled by Johor Corp Bhd. In August last year, The Edge Malaysia reported, citing sources, that Johor Corp had revived relisting plans for the fast food operator amid a group-wide restructuring, and had engaged Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd as its listing advisers.

Plans to relist the fast food operator, which was delisted more than eight years ago, have been delayed several times previously, with QRS Brands "officially" deciding in April 2019 to postpone the listing plan after key potential investors deemed its valuation too high.

In its statement Monday, QSR Brands said Chong — the first woman to helm IBM Malaysia — retired from the company in December 2018. “In her 30 years at IBM, she held leadership roles that spanned across multiple disciplines of technical, sales, intellectual property, business, and strategy development," QSR said.

As for Foong, the company said she has over 30 years of experience in the banking sector with international banks and a Malaysian public listed bank, and that she has held various C-suite level positions (CEO, CFO, COO) for more than 15 years.

Khoo, meanwhile, has had a progressive 39-year career spanning the “entire spectrum of human resource management”. “She served at several international and Malaysian corporates including Digital Equipment Malaysia, ICI Paints (M) Sdn Bhd, Sunway Group of Companies, and Arthur Young & Co, among others, before retiring as executive director/human resource director of Guinness Anchor Bhd in 2006,” the company said.

QSR chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said under the new management team, led by the company’s CEO Nehchal Khanna, QSR has embarked on a journey towards transformation while delivering shareholder value growth during a challenging period in the last two years.

“Today’s announcement is another step of transformation, that is, on board governance including board composition, diversity, decision process, risk and compliance management, human capital talent management, and sustainability,” the company added.

“As we refresh our board, these new appointments will collectively bring strategic oversight to QSR Brands and meet the gold standard of corporate governance. We’re excited to welcome these prominent individuals to QSR Brands’ board of directors. I am particularly pleased that we will achieve great diversity at the board,” he added.