Cradle Fund, Malaysia’s state-backed early-stage startup influencer, has announced the appointment of Rafiza Ghazali as the Group CEO, with effect from June 1, 2020.
Rafiza who started her career at Arthur Anderson & Co. will bring on board a wealth of experience in strategy, innovation, finance, and business management. She is currently CFO at Velesto Energy, a multinational player in the upstream oil and gas sector and has held senior roles in Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), RHB Investment Bank, Thomson Reuters, and Sime Darby.
According to Yvonne Chia, Chairman of Cradle, their immediate priority in this current Covid-19 crisis is to enable the Malaysian startups and tech entrepreneurs to navigate through the challenges and to evolve with the changing landscape.
Chia said in a statement that the search for the CEO role has gone through an extensive process and that the accelerator worked closely with the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The Board expressed its appreciation to Razif Abdul Aziz, currently the Acting Group CEO who will resume back to his role as Chief Operating Officer from June 1, 2020.
Cradle Fund was incorporated in 2003 under the Ministry of Finance Malaysia with a mandate to fund potential and high-calibre tech startups through its Cradle Investment Programme (CIP). Cradle is presently administered by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI).
