KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 5): Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil, who is set to depart from RHB Bank Bhd by the end of this month, is slated to assume the role of chief financial officer (CFO) at Axiata Group Bhd.

His appointment will take effect from Jan 1, 2024, according to Axiata’s statement on Tuesday. Nik Rizal will replace Lila Azmin Abdullah, who has held the post as the telecommunications group’s acting CFO since March this year in addition to her role as group chief corporate development officer.

Just last week, RHB announced the cessation of office of its CFO Nik Rizal, with effect from Dec 31, following the expiry of his contract. He was appointed as the bank’s CFO in February 2021.

Prior to that, Nik Rizal was with Khazanah Nasional as its executive director of investments, leading investment and divestments projects, value creation activities and overall private equity asset class strategy execution both domestically and internationally in the areas of telecommunications, media and technology.

He has also served on the boards of Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, besides having had stints with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Arthur Andersen & Co (currently known as Ernst & Young PLT) and Coopers & Lybrand (now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers) in London.

“I am pleased to welcome Nik Rizal into the Axiata leadership team. His impressive background in both finance and investment portfolio management makes him a right fit for this pivotal role as group CFO, as Axiata embarks on the next phase of our transformation journey from telco to techco,” Axiata chief executive officer and managing director Vivek Sood said on the new appointment.  

“Nik Rizal possesses significant experience and a profound understanding of portfolio management in the telecoms, media and technology (TMT) and financial services industries. His deep expertise in all aspects of corporate finance, accounting and financial planning will drive Axiata’s strategic priorities for disciplined capital allocation, execution on portfolio strategy and treasury management.

“I am confident that Nik Rizal's leadership capabilities will enable the Group to further optimise our investment portfolio to ensure sustainable growth and long-term value for our shareholders,” he added.

Shares of Axiata closed two sen or 0.83% higher at RM2.42 on Tuesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM22.21 billion.