KUALA LUMPUR: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad will take over the chairmanship of Sime Darby Bhd.
Abdul Rahman will assume the role upon Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah's retirement on October 31 this year, Sime Darby said in a statement today.
This confirmed reports yesterday that Abdul Rahman was set to be made chairman of Sime Darby, the country’s oldest conglomerate.
Reports, quoting sources, also said Jalil Rasheed, investment director at Invesco Asset Management Singapore Ltd, was poised to supercede Abdul Rahman at PNB.
Sime Darby is one of PNB’s key strategic companies, in which it owns a 52 per cent stake, and whose diversified businesses include car dealerships as well as hospital and port operations.
In its statement, Sime Darby said Abdul Rahman, 50, would be appointed non-independent non-executive director on September 1 before assuming the role of chairman on October 31.
The group added that Wan Abdul Aziz, 67, planned to retire due to health reasons.
“The board of directors and the senior management team of Sime Darby Bhd expresses its gratitude to Tan Sri Wan Abdul Aziz for his leadership and valuable contributions these past years.
“We look forward to a smooth transition of board leadership under Datuk Abdul Rahman’s direction,” said Sime Darby group CEO Jeffri Salim Davidson said in the statement.
Abdul Rahman was formerly a director and CEO of Ekuiti Nasional Bhd, a government-linked private equity firm. Prior to joining Ekuinas, he was group managing director (MD) and CEO of Media Prima Bhd and group MD and CEO of Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd.
He also sits on the board of Velesto Energy Bhd.