With Tan Sri Jamaludin officially vacating the Presidents post at Axiata Group a post he held since 2008, his successor who had been his loyal deputy Deputy GCEO, Datuk Mohd Izzaddin Idris will now take over the task of charting new adventures for the telecommunication giant.
Effective January 1, 2020, Izzaddin will be steering the ship by himself with guidance from the board, the job will be challenging nevertheless looking at the turbulent environment the industry is facing today. Post pandemic, 5G on a hiatus and nations cutting budget, telecommunications although essential is a big ticket investment where careful consideration is given before any fund is ploughed in. His immediate attention will be to continue transforming Celcom, the cash cow in the group and look at sweating the other assets across the region.
Tan Sri Jamaluddin helped build the conglomerate to what it is today, having helmed the position since inception every strategic move Axiata made from decoupling from Telekom Malaysia to its foray’s into neighboring countries, the ex-CEO had a major involvement. The mandate was set 12 years ago, and till today Axiata Group is the only Malaysian telecommunications company to have footprints in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia.
Axiata is in an enviable position, with solid cash reserves and a sound management team, this will give Izzudin time to strategise his plans for the Group. He is also well aware of what he is being handed over with, having joined the board of Axiata in November 2016 as a non-independent non-executive director and later redesignated as an independent non-executive director in March 2019, he has seen first hand the way his boss was operating and will steady the ship without tinkering too much.
The certified accountant will be closely watched by industry players and analysts, unlike some other GLC’s who get a leadership change when the chips are down and the only way is up, Axiata is in a stable position and destined to phenomenal expansion especially outside Malaysia, Izzudin as some attribute is able handle the pressure.
