KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) has appointed Effendy Shahul Hamid as its new deputy CEO, the digital and aviation services company revealed on Monday.
Effendy was formerly CEO for group consumer and digital banking at CIMB Group. He was involved in the transformation of Touch 'n Go into a leading digital payments platform through its joint venture with Ant Group, Capital A said in a statement.
At Capital A, Effendy will be looking at value accretion across the group's businesses that also include online travel agent AirAsia Move, air cargo Teleport, aircraft maintenance unit ADE, and brand management firm AirAsia Next.
At a press conference on Capital A’s operations, CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said he first asked Effendy “to see whether he could assist” with BigPay and loyalty programmes, but after their discussion, his role was expanded to cover the whole Capital A group.
Effendy, in a statement, said he is "working closely with the various CEOs of Capital A group of companies and AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) to create and unlock the high potential of their businesses".
"I am also looking forward to applying my previous experience in financial services to define a proposition in this space for the group. Its strong ecosystem access and use-cases provide an ideal platform to demonstrate what the future could look like in this vertical," he said.
Effendy joins at a time when Capital A is making efforts to turn around BigPay, which was once a fast-growing provider of payment services for travellers with competitive foreign exchange rates.
BigPay had attempted to secure a digital banking licence in Malaysia but was unsuccessful. Capital A previously said it is looking for potential partners in the majority-owned BigPay to support its turnaround efforts.
The group is also planning to unlock value in its different subsidiaries, potentially beginning with a proposed listing of AirAsia Next, pending Capital A’s exit from Practice Note 17 status this year.