EPF: New CEO will be announced in due course

Friday 03 May 2024

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 12): Following the appointment of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan as the new minister of finance II, the EPF said his successor will be announced in due course.

Amir Hamzah, who was sworn in as a senator in the Dewan Negara earlier on Tuesday, is one of the new additions to the reshuffled Cabinet announced by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the same day.

The EPF, in a statement, congratulated Amir Hamzah on his appointment, and expressed confidence in his leadership to contribute significantly to the economic development of the nation.

"Throughout his tenure as the EPF CEO, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah has played a pivotal role in the growth and success of the EPF, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation.

"Among his key achievements include steering the EPF through various economic cycles and challenges, consistently achieving positive growth in investment income. His strategic direction and adept decision-making have been crucial in maintaining the EPF's investment and operational resilience, ensuring that it stands as a steadfast pillar of retirement security for EPF members," the pension fund said.

Amir Hamzah was appointed to helm the EPF in March 2021.

The EPF's gross investment income rose from RM63.45 billion in 2020 to RM68.89 billion in 2021, which then dipped to RM55.33 billion in 2022. For the first nine months of 2023, the EPF recorded total investment income of RM47.86 billion, up 33% from the RM36.04 billion it recorded for the same period in 2022.

Prior to joining the EPF, Amir Hamzah was the president and CEO of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) from April 2019 to February 2021.

He started his career with the Shell Group of Companies, where he spent 10 years in various capacities in Malaysia, Singapore and the UK, before joining MISC Bhd in 2000 — where he held several senior management posts before being appointed as its president and CEO in January 2009.

He subsequently joined Petronas Dagangan Bhd as its managing director and CEO in June 2010, before heading to Petronas Lubricants International as its group MD and CEO in August 2012, when he was also simultaneously the vice-president (VP) for downstream marketing, and later the VP of lubricants for the Petronas group.

He then went on to lead Icon Offshore Bhd — an investee company of Ekuiti Nasional Bhd or Ekuinas — in March 2016, before being appointed to helm Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotels Sdn Bhd — a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd — as its group CEO, before he headed to TNB in April 2019.

Amir Hamzah is the second technocrat appointed to the Ministry of Finance with a corporate background. The first was former finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who was previously the group CEO and executive director of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

Edited ByTan Choe Choe

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