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KUALA LUMPUR (June 6): Five-year Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin has been appointed as chairman of Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), while Petronas executive vice-president and group chief financial officer (CFO) Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz will take over as president cum CEO at the national oil company.
In a statement, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Wan Zulkiflee’s and Tengku Muhammad Taufik’s appointments are effective from July 1.
“On behalf of the Malaysian government, I wish to thank Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee for his leadership and contributions during his 37 years with Petronas. He successfully cemented Petronas as a government company that had a stable financial position and excellent administration. Petronas is also the only government company that has international credit accreditation and is still listed on the Fortune Global 500 list of companies.
"I believe that under his leadership, MAB will be restructured again and developed as a national airline that is competitive and forward-looking that is managed well,” the premier said.
Muhyiddin added that the oil and gas (O&G) industry is currently facing great challenges with volatility in oil prices and a declining global economy.
He expressed confidence in Tengku Muhammad Taufik’s experience and skill set, alongside chairman Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh, in leading Petronas to greater excellence.
theedgemarkets.com had earlier reported that Wan Zulkiflee, better known as Wan Zul, would be stepping down as Petronas' president and group CEO.
Tengku Muhammad Taufik was appointed Petronas’ group CFO in October 2018. A former partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia (PwC Malaysia), he replaced Datuk Manharlal Ratila, better known as Datuk George Ratilal.
At PwC Malaysia, Tengku Muhammad Taufik served as its O&G leader.
He was previously CFO of SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd (now known as Sapura Energy Bhd) from December 2012 to January 2015, having served as Tanjong plc CFO prior to that.
He served Petronas from 2000 to 2012 in various capacities, including in internal audit, corporate planning, business development and finance, ultimately serving as its head of strategic planning.