This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 8, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Ahmad Nizam Salleh, the newly appointed chairman of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), has quit the board of construction and oil and gas outfit, WZ Satu Bhd.

In a bourse filing yesterday, WZ Satu said Ahmad Nizam, 62, resigned from his position as an independent and non-executive director of the company “to pursue other business opportunities”.

With his resignation, Ahmad Nizam also ceased to be the chairman of WZ Satu’s remuneration committee. He had been on WZ Satu’s board since April 11, 2016.

According to WZ Satu’s latest annual report, Ahmad Nizam was with Petronas’ corporate head office from 1981 to 1987, where he held various positions, such as an analyst, planner and project coordinator in corporate planning and finance sectors.

Subsequently, he held various senior positions in Petronas from 1988 to 2002, including head of crude oil group and later group treasury. In 2004, he became the managing director (MD) of Malaysia LNG Group of Companies and was promoted to the role of vice-president of the corporate services division of Petronas in 2007. From July 2010 to August 2015, he was the MD of Engen Ltd, a subsidiary of Petronas in South Africa.

Last Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Ahmad Nizam would be the new Petronas chairman, replacing Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan who stepped down on June 30 upon completion of his extended three-year contract.