This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 5, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Bank Bhd has announced the appointment of Datuk Adissadikin Ali (pic) as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of RHB Islamic and head of the group’s syariah business.

Adissadikin will be succeeding Ibrahim Hassan from Aug 1, the group said in a statement yesterday.

“Adissadikin will be responsible for leading, managing and growing the group’s syariah business, making it into one of the top three Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia, while also exploring opportunities for growth regionally.

“Group Shariah Business is one of RHB’s key growth areas under its Ignite 2017 transformation programme,” it added.

RHB Banking Group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said Adissadikin has 21 years of experience in the financial services sector, and expressed confidence that  he will strengthen and build the group’s shariah business to be one of the top Islamic banks in Asean.

Prior to joining the RHB Banking Group, Adissadikin was the CEO of Alkhair International Islamic Bank Bhd since June 2015. From October 2010 to May 2015, he was president and CEO of ExportImport Bank of Malaysia Bhd.

He graduated from Monash University in Australia with a Bachelor of Business (Banking & Finance) degree, and subsequently obtained an MBA (Finance) from Universiti Malaya. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Programme, and is a chartered banker with the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers.