KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): Malaysia Airlines Bhd has named Bryan Foong Chee Yeong as group chief strategy officer of the national carrier effective Aug 1.

According to Malaysia Airlines group CEO Izham Ismail, Foong will be responsible for translating the strategic vision of Izham and the national carrier's board of directors into strategic priorities and direction.

Foong will also lead the planning of network and fleet in deciding the future size and shape of Malaysia Airlines' parent Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), reflecting the needs of customers, market and competitive environment, said Izham in a circular sent to staff, which was sighted by theedgemarkets.com today.

Izham also announced the departure of Ignatius Ong Ming Choy as the airline's group chief revenue officer from early next month, after one year on the job. Prior to that, Ong was the CEO of FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd from 2011.

"Ignatius is leaving Malaysia Airlines to take on a bigger role in corporate Malaysia, which is consistent with my aspiration to create leaders not just for MAG, but also for the country," said Izham in the circular.

The search for Ong’s replacement is underway, but in the interim, Izham said he will be overseeing all functions under the revenue division.

Meanwhile, Foong is no stranger to Malaysia Airlines, having served a short stint in the now-defunct Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) between 2007 and 2011, where he last held the position as head of strategy. Foong had served under the then managing director and CEO of MAS — Datuk Seri Idris Jala (from 2005 to 2009) and Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz (2009 to 2011).

Foong had helped spearhead the turnaround and subsequent transformation initiatives of the airline then, Izham said.
 
With more than 15 years of experience in strategy and corporate planning, Foong’s last position was at Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s subsidiary Themed Attractions Resorts & Hotels Sdn Bhd — mandated to develop, own and operate leisure and tourism destinations and assets in Malaysia.

The movements at Malaysia Airlines followed the appointment of Morgan Stanley by Khazanah, to explore strategic options for the loss-making airline. Khazanah is the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.