KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA) has appointed its group chief financial officer, Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil, as the new group chief executive officer and managing director, effective June 1.
He will succeed Vivek Sood, who has stepped down upon retirement after more than three years in the role, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Monday.
Nik Rizal, 53, previously served as the group CFO of RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK), where he oversaw financial strategy, performance management, capital management and regulatory engagement across regional markets.
Before that, he held senior leadership roles at Khazanah Nasional Bhd, including as the executive director of investments, where he led major investment and divestment exercises, portfolio strategy and value creation initiatives across sectors such as telecommunications, media and technology. He also served on the boards of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (KL:TM) and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (KL:ASTRO).
He currently sits on the board of CelcomDigi Bhd (KL:CDB).
Separately, Axiata said Komathi Balakrishnan will serve as its acting group CFO effective June 1.
Komathi, 55, began her career as a finance executive at Telekom Malaysia, where she gained extensive experience in the telecommunications sector.
She brings more than 30 years of experience in accounting and finance, having held senior leadership roles across several organisations, including as the group financial controller of Sapura Energy Bhd, now known as Vantris Energy Bhd (KL:VANTNRG), from 2015 to 2019, and at Telekom Malaysia from 2012 to 2014.
Axiata shares rose seven sen, or 3.6%, to RM2.02 at Monday’s close, valuing the group at RM18.6 billion.