KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Banking Group (RHB) has appointed Syed Ahmad Taufik Albar as its head of group international business effective today.
Taufik's appointment was in line with the group's senior leadership development programme aimed at strengthening the breadth and depth of the group's senior leadership team.
Group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said Taufik's main responsibility will be to oversee the growth and performance of all international businesses, covering commercial, investment banking and asset management, synergising the functions and resources across the group and countries that RHB is present.
"He will also be overseeing the group's commercial/corporate credit resolution functions," he said in a statement filing to Bursa Malaysia today.
Taufik was the group's chief financial officer (CFO) since December 1, 2016 and he will be succeeded by Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil who joins the group effective today.
"Nik Rizal brings with him great depth of knowledge and experience in the areas of accounting, finance and strategic investments, domestically and internationally.
"His appointment as group CFO will further add to the overall strength of our Group Senior Management team," added Khairussaleh.
Nik Rizal has 25 years of working experience in areas relating to finance and investment. Prior to this appointment, Nik Rizal was Khazanah Nasional Bhd investments executive director, responsible for the sovereign wealth fund's investments in telecommunications, media and technology (TMT).
He was also the head of private markets for North America, EMEA and South Asia, leading Khazanah's investment and divestment projects, value creation activities and overall private equity asset class strategy execution, while heading the international offices in San Francisco, Istanbul and Mumbai.
Nik Rizal also served as Khazanah's nominee director on the boards of several public listed and private companies both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining Khazanah, Nik Rizal was in various leadership positions overseeing finance, strategy, and planning within the Royal Dutch Shell Plc Group of Companies, having been based in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Nik Rizal holds a MSc Finance from London Business School and a BSc (Hons) Economics and Accounting from University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
He is also a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCA) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.