KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 19): AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) has appointed Wong Mee Yen as its chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from Jan 1.

Wong replaces outgoing CFO Cheok Huei Shian, who had led the AAX finance team since February 2015, the  long-haul low cost carrier said in a statement.

Cheok, who is leaving AAX to pursue personal interests, will stay with the company till the end of December to ensure a smooth transition.

AAX said Wong will report directly to AAX chief executive officer (CEO) Benyamin Ismail, and will be responsible for corporate finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis as well as investor relations.

“We are pleased to bring back Mee Yen to join our management team at AirAsia X Bhd as we continue to drive our strategic and financial business transformation,” said AAX group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.

“She is an old hand who previously worked closely with Tony (AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes) and myself as group financial controller of AirAsia Bhd. She was part of the core team in the early days of AirAsia and has played an instrumental role in the success of AirAsia and getting the company listed on the Bursa stock Exchange,” said Kamarudin.

“She has vast experience in finance and operational management, and together with her intimate knowledge of AirAsia's business model, culture and products, we are confident she will be able to help us build upon our successes so far towards becoming the undisputed global long-haul LCC leader,” he added.

Kamarudin also thanked Cheok for her invaluable contributions towards realising AAX’s transformation.

“Her hard work helped us to return to the black, and she will always be the paragon of an Allstar to us,” he said.

Shares in AAX closed down half a sen or 1.49% to 33 sen for a market capitalisation of RM1.37 billion.