KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) announced that it has appointed Datuk Fad’l Mohamed as its new chief executive officer, effective March 1, with the retirement of Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift, who has served as CEO since February 2019.
This confirmed a report by The Edge Malaysia weekly, published for the week of Dec 23-29, 2024, that Fad’l was tipped to take over the CEO post at Bursa as Muhamad Umar, who had turned 60, was considering leaving the company. In response to the speculation at the time, Bursa had said it was embarking on a CEO succession plan, and that it was considering both internal and external candidates.
The new appointment was made by Bursa’s board of directors, in line with its leadership succession plan and with the concurrence of the Securities Commission Malaysia, Bursa said in a statement on Monday.
Fad’l, 57, has over 30 years of experience in the fields of legal, capital markets and investment banking. Currently managing director of group wholesale banking at RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK), he was previously the CEO of Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB).
“On behalf of the board, we are pleased to welcome Datuk Fad’l Mohamed as the next CEO to take Bursa Malaysia forward, building on the strong progress laid by Datuk Muhamad Umar. Datuk Fad’l’s understanding of capital markets and investment banking sets him in solid stead to lead the exchange into the future. We are confident that his expertise will drive continued growth and success for the exchange and the marketplace,” said Bursa chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar.
Abdul Wahid also extended Bursa’s gratitude to Muhamad Umar for his leadership and many contributions, including setting the vision and roadmap for Bursa to be a multi-asset exchange, keeping the markets open with fully operational trading throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and steering the exchange into a new era of sustainability, customer-centricity, and digitalisation.
Trained in law, Fad’l started his career as a lawyer in 1991 with Messrs Rashid & Lee, before joining the Securities Commission two years later, according to Bursa. He then moved on to investment banking at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. Subsequently, he founded Maestro Capital Sdn Bhd, a licensed corporate finance adviser specialising on mergers and acquisition, capital raising, and initial public offerings (IPOs), until 2015, when he joined Maybank IB.
Currently a fellow chartered banker with the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Fad’l also holds a Master in Business Administration from Imperial College London, UK, and a Diploma in Accounting and Finance.