Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini Othman, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Building Society Berhad and its Group of companies, has passed away after battling with Covid-19 complications.
He took his last breath early this morning at 1:46am at KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital. He was 64 years old.
The visionary leader carried four decades of banking experience and was appointed to helm Malaysia Building Society Berhad (financial holding company of MBSB Bank Berhad) on 26 February 2009. Under his leadership, he has transformed a non-bank financial institution by restructuring and turning around its financial standing into a profitable organization. He successfully concluded the merger deal between Malaysia Building Society Berhad (MBSB) and Asian Finance Bank. The merger, which was also granted an acquisition approval, that made it possible for MBSB to fully own MBSB Bank Berhad, in 2018. Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini successfully converted a conventional non-bank financial institution into a full-fledged Islamic bank. Today, MBSB Bank stands as the country’s second full-fledged Islamic bank.
Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini received multiple industry recognitions throughout his journey in the banking industry. He leaves behind his wife, two married daughters and two grandchildren.Expressing his sympathy, Tan Sri Azlan Zainol, Chairman of MBSB Group said, “This is a tremendous loss not only to MBSB Group, but also the banking industry. Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini was an outstanding man with a big heart. He has touched the lives of so many and his hard work will never be forgotten. He was instrumental to the improvement of the bank through his business initiatives
which comes from his excellent business acumen. He was a visionary and we will miss him dearly.”
As an interim measure, Datuk Nor Azam M Taib who is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer will be the acting President and Chief Executive Officer of MBSB Group.
