ETA Group Bhd has announced the resignations of its independent non-executive chairman Hong Kok Cheong and group managing director Darmendran Kunaretnam.
Hong resigned from the board effective Sept 17, 2026, citing his intention to pursue personal interests.
He was appointed to ETA Group’s board on March 13, 2024 and, in addition to serving as chairman, chaired the group’s Nomination Committee and Remuneration Committee and was a member of its Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Hong holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in the United States and has more than 35 years of experience in the information technology industry.
His experience includes advocating the use of digital technology to support sustainable and circular business practices. He currently serves as Chief Commercial Officer of Singapore-based Optivolve Pte Ltd and as a strategic adviser to Brandt International and the Strateq Group of companies.
The group is also losing long-serving group managing director Darmendran Kunaretnam, who joined ETA Group’s board on March 3, 2015 as a non-independent executive director.
Darmendran holds a business degree majoring in accounting from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and is a member of both the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
He began his career in auditing, spending 10 years as a group manager in the audit division of an international public accounting firm between 1985 and 1995.
He subsequently joined Gold Bridge Engineering & Construction Bhd as general manager of finance and corporate planning in 1996, where he was involved in the company’s listing on Bursa Malaysia.
Darmendran later played a role in restructuring and listing Safeguards Corporation Bhd in 1997 and was appointed to its board later that year. In 2007, he and a business partner took Safeguards private.
He later served as chief financial officer of Kejuruteraan Samudra Timur Bhd (KSTB) and its subsidiaries before joining the KSTB board as a non-executive director in February 2009. He was redesignated as executive director in August 2009.
