KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): Heineken Malaysia Bhd (KL:HEIM) has appointed Datuk Iain John Lo as its new chairman, effective Aug 15, succeeding Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who is stepping down after serving nine years on the board.
In a media statement on Tuesday, the brewer said Lo has more than three decades of corporate leadership experience across the energy, banking and telecommunications sectors.
He spent over 30 years with Shell, culminating in his role as country chairman of Shell Malaysia Ltd from 2012 until his retirement in March 2021. He also previously served as chairman of Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaya) Bhd until its sale in 2016.
Currently, Lo serves as a member of the Board of Guardians of the Sarawak Sovereign Wealth Future Fund. He is also an independent non-executive director of RHB Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd, as well as a board member of Sepang International Circuit Sdn Bhd. He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in civil engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.
The board said it is confident Lo's extensive leadership experience will help guide Heineken Malaysia through an increasingly dynamic operating environment while supporting the group's long-term growth agenda under its EverGreen 2030 strategy.
Idris is relinquishing his roles as chairman and director in line with the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG), which advocates a nine-year tenure limit for independent directors. He will continue to serve the group as an adviser from the same date.
The company credited Idris with providing leadership and strategic guidance since joining the board in January 2017, steering the group through a period of transformation that included the Covid-19 pandemic. During his tenure as chairman, the board oversaw key initiatives such as digital transformation, strengthening route-to-consumer capabilities and major brewery upgrades.
Shares in Heineken Malaysia closed up 12 sen or 0.6% to RM19.42, valuing the company at RM5.87 billion. Over the past one year, the stock has declined 22.9%.