Sime Darby Property has appointed Rizal Rickman Ramli as Chairman of the Group’s Board of Directors to succeed Tan Sri Dr. Zeti, with effect from 7 May 2021. Rizal Rickman joined Sime Darby Property’s Board as Non-Independent Non Executive Director on 5 April 2018 and is currently the Chief Investment Officer, Private & Strategic Investments at PNB.
He joined PNB in March 2018 as the Executive Vice President of Property/ Real Estate and assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer, Real Estate in 2020. Under his leadership, the PNB real estate portfolio has doubled in size and broadened its focus from primarily commercial offices into new areas such as logistics, industrial and multi-family residential. The portfolio is now well diversified and includes investments in markets such as the United States, Japan, Australia, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Rizal Rickman was appointed as PNB’s Chief Investment Officer, Private & Strategic Investments in April 2021. In this role, he now oversees three divisions namely, Real Estate, Private Markets, and Strategic Investments.
Prior to joining PNB, Rizal Rickman was Country Managing Partner for The Boston Consulting Group (“BCG”) in Malaysia. During his time at BCG, he advised clients across more than 10 countries and established BCG Malaysia as a regional hub for its business services. His areas of expertise included strategy development, business model innovation and growth, as well as corporate and industry level transformations.
Rizal Rickman is also a Director of Velesto Energy Berhad, a listed company in Bursa Malaysia since March 2018. He is also a Board member of other public companies namely Pelaburan Hartanah Nasional Berhad, MIDF Property Berhad and Lanjut Golf Berhad. He holds a Master of Business Administration with concentration in Finance and Operations from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Arts, Economics from the University of Chicago.
Tan Sri Dr. Zeti had expressed her intention not to seek re-election, assumed the position in July 2018, becoming Sime Darby Property’s first woman Chairman of the Board.
“It has been my honour and privilege to serve Sime Darby Property since 2018 as Chairman of the Board. Sime Darby Property has a remarkable set of assets and with its transformative initiatives underway, the Group is well placed on a trajectory for success. I have trust in the calibre and diligence of the Board and Management to ensure Sime Darby Property will deliver sustainable value for the benefit of all its stakeholders, especially its shareholders”, she said.
Sime Darby Property’s Group Managing Director, Dato’ Azmir Merican said, “Tan Sri Dr. Zeti presided over the Board during an important phase of Sime Darby Property’s history. The Group is privileged to have benefited from her clear vision which has formed the foundation of our next phase of transformation.
“Her foresight to push for new growth frontiers in the property development segment will continue to guide the Group well into the future. On behalf of the Board, Management and employees of Sime Darby Property, I would like to put on record a note of appreciation to Tan Sri Dr. Zeti for her immense contributions to the Group during her three-year tenure as Chairman.”
Permodalan Nasional Berhad (“PNB”), Sime Darby Property’s majority shareholder, has also recently announced Tan Sri Dr. Zeti’s retirement as Chairman effective 30 April 2021. At PNB, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti led Malaysia’s largest fund manager through a transformational journey, which include diversification of its investment efforts into a broader range of asset classes and global markets, strengthening its risk and liquidity management capabilities, and embarking on an organisational transformation to engender digital innovation, operational efficiency, and initiatives to develop its talent pool.
