KUALA LUMPUR (May 7): Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad has returned to Sime Darby Bhd (KL:SIME) as its non-independent non-executive chairman, effective immediately.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday, the group said he replaces Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, who stepped down on Dec 31 last year for personal reasons.
Abdul Rahman, 56, previously held the same post at Sime Darby from 2019 to 2020.
His return comes after The Edge reported earlier on Thursday, citing sources, that his second stint at PNB is expected to end by end-May. He is set to go on leave until his contract ends in June, before being succeeded by deputy president and group chief executive Datuk Rizal Rickman Ramli on July 1, the report said.
PNB, Malaysia’s largest fund manager with over RM300 billion in assets under management, held a 4.24% stake in Sime Darby as at Sept 8 last year.
AmanahRaya Trustees Bhd — manager of Amanah Saham Bumiputera under PNB — remains the group’s largest shareholder with a 32.4% stake.
Abdul Rahman started his career at Arthur Andersen in London before serving as a special assistant to the executive chairman of Trenergy (M) Bhd and Turnaround Managers Inc (M) Sdn Bhd.
He later joined Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd as the unit head, and went on to become an executive director and founding partner of SSR Associates Sdn Bhd.
He is currently also a board member of Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, a PNB-owned trust management company.
Abdul Rahman previously served as the group CEO of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB) and CIMB Bank Bhd from 2020 to 2024, after an earlier stint as PNB's president and group chief executive from 2016 to 2020.
He has also held senior roles in Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (KL:MRCB), Media Prima Bhd (KL:MEDIA), and Ekuiti Nasional Bhd.
He was the non-independent non-executive chairman of Velesto Energy Bhd (KL:VELESTO) from 2017 to 2019.
Sime Darby shares slipped two sen or 0.9% to RM2.19 ahead of the announcement on Thursday, valuing the group at RM14.9 billion.