KUALA LUMPUR (July 2): Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Bhd has appointed Samad Majid Zain Abdul Majid as its chief executive officer effective July 1.

He is taking the permanent post after leading the development financial institution, also known as SME Bank, as interim CEO since 2025. Samad Majid joined SME Bank as chief financial officer in November 2021.

“His appointment reflects the board's confidence in his leadership, extensive experience across the financial services industry and steadfast commitment to SME Bank's development mandate,” SME Bank chairman Zulkiflee Hashim said in a statement on Thursday.

SME Bank was without a permanent CEO since 2024 when Datuk Aria Putera Ismail stepped down in September 2024. After he left, Datuk Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim was acting CEO until his promotion to SME Bank’s parent company Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd as chief strategy officer in November 2025.

Trained as an accountant, Samad Majid comes with more than three decades of experience spanning finance, assurance, treasury, investment banking, corporate finance and operations, including more than 19 years in top leadership within the financial services industry.

Before joining SME Bank, he was the chief operating officer of Affin Hwang Investment Bank

Since he came on board, “he has played an instrumental role in strengthening SME Bank's financial resilience, operational excellence and strategic execution while providing steady leadership during a significant period of transition,” Zulkiflee said.