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Axiata names joint acting group CEOs as incumbent steps down

Carlo Sarabia - May 30, 2022

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Axiata Group announced that Dato’ Izzaddin Idris will step down from his position as president and group CEO effective May 31, 2022. The board has appointed Dr Hans Wijayasuria, CEO of telecommunications business and group EVP of Axiata, as well as Vivek Sood, group CFO of Axiata, as interim joint acting group CEOs effective June 1, 2022. They will retain their current positions and portfolios. The stepping down of Idris is based on the mutual cessation of his service contract between him and Axiata.

Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, chairman of Axiata, said, “The board thanks Idris for his wisdom, leadership and contributions in steering Axiata over the past two years. He took the helm on January 1, 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, after serving as deputy group CEO since January 2020. He has been instrumental in shaping Axiata’s strategic response to secure stability and business continuity in the face of daunting and unprecedented challenges across many aspects of our operations.”

Ridzuan adds on the appointment of joint group CEOs, saying, “The board assures all our stakeholders that Axiata has always had a strong culture of succession planning and we are committed to ensuring a smooth transition and preserving the momentum Axiata has achieved thus far with the Axiata 5.0 Vision. The appointment of Wijayasuria and Sood as joint acting Group CEOs will ensure continuity in this situation.”

Ridzuan said that with the appointment of Wijayasuria and Sood as joint group CEOs, Axiata has two industry stalwarts who are very familiar with Axiata’s businesses and they are both strongly grounded in our culture and deeply committed to the success of our ventures.

According to the company, the board does not expect to make additional structural or senior leadership changes in the near term.