This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on January 24, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: FGV Holdings Bhd has appointed Datuk Haris Fadzilah Hassan as group chief executive officer (CEO) effective immediately.

With Haris’s appointment, Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid has resigned as the interim CEO, but his current role as chairman of FGV remains unchanged.

The CEO position was left vacant after Datuk Zakaria Arshad resigned on Sept 18 last year, following his suspension on Sept 13. This came after the conclusion of internal investigations into 10 critical issues that had resulted in financial loss for the group and its shareholders.

“As a listed company, FGV has a responsibility to its shareholders to create and deliver value. The transformation plan that we have in place today sets the direction for the company, and our management team lead by Haris will drive FGV forward. I have full confidence in their ability to deliver results,” Azhar said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

According to FGV, Haris has 28 years of experience in the corporate sector, especially in strategy and change management. Most recently, he was director of commercial and land management in Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) and a key member of the team that successfully completed MRT Corp’s Phase 1.

“Prior to MRT Corp, Haris worked in the plantation industry in various leadership roles, first with Golden Hope Plantations Bhd as head of strategy and business development, and subsequently with Sime Darby Plantation Bhd as head of its downstream operations.

“His years of experience in the plantation industry and his expertise in change management are crucial skillsets to drive FGV’s transformation plan and to deliver on aggressive targets that have been set by the board,” added FGV.

FGV also announced the appointments of Datuk Mohd Hairul Abdul Hamid as group chief financial officer (CFO) from Jan 2, Mazri Abdul Rahim chief human resources officer from Nov 19, 2018, and Dr Christina Ooi Su Siang as chief procurement officer effective Jan 15.

FGV said Mohd Hairul, an accountant by training, and has several years of experience in effective financial and tax management having served most recently as CFO in MRT Corp. Prior to that, he was CFO of Sime Darby Bhd’s energy and utilities division and Sime Darby Plantation Bhd.

Mazri, meanwhile, has served in the area of HR for various multinationals throughout his career, which included postings in Europe and Asean. Ooi brings to FGV, more than two decades of procurement management experience, notably in procurement transformation management, another critical part of FGV’s recovery and transformation plan.