This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on March 14, 2019
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is set to see another reshuffle at the top level, with the group confirming the departure of its chief technology and innovation officer (CTIO) and chief information security officer (CISO) Datuk Mohd Rais Azhar, as well as its chief digital officer (CDO) Ahmad Azhar Yahya.
“We wish to confirm that Datuk Mohd Rais Azhar and Ahmad Azhar Yahya have resigned from their respective positions to pursue their interests outside of TM,” the telecommunications giant said in an email reply to The Edge Financial Daily. Their resignations will take effect on April 1.
“In ensuring our commitment towards customers is continuously fulfilled in line with our next phase of transformation into ‘New TM’ — a customer-centric organisation — via the Performance Improvement Programme 2019-2021, their positions will be covered by the senior officials who are currently their direct reports,” said TM.
With the departure of Ahmad Azhar as the CDO, the Group Digital Centre (GDC) will be overseen by general manager Hizam Ghazali, who has been part of the GDC since 2018.
“Hizam will continue the effort of realising TM’s strategic thrust of empowering digital,” said TM.
In the interim, Asmawati Yusof, chief network and IT architecture with 33 years of experience in the technical field, will assume the role of the CTIO, a position vacated by Mohd Rais.
Meanwhile, the role of CISO will be covered by the head, Mohd Nazri Zawawi. With 21 years of service in TM, Mohd Nazri has been attached to group information security since its formation in 2017.
Notably, TM’s management has undergone several changes in the past nine months, including the resignation of managing director and group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly in June last year.
Its then executive director and deputy group CEO Datuk Bazlan Osman, who was appointed as acting group CEO following Mohammed Shazalli’s departure, resigned from the top post in November last year.
For the interim, TM has appointed chief operating officer Imri Mokhtar to become acting group CEO.
In December last year, TM appointed Rosli Man as a non-independent and non-executive chairman of the group effective immediately, replacing Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, who resigned on Nov 30 last year.
A quick check on TM’s website shows that Mohd Rais, 53, was appointed CTIO effective Feb 18 last year, and CISO since Jan 1, 2017.
Formerly the deputy CTIO in 2017 and appointed vice-president of network architecture and technology in 2010, he was instrumental in various transformation projects in TM including the national high-speed broadband (HSBB) project launched in March 2010.
As for Ahmad Azhar, a 54-year-old who joined TM as group chief information officer in August 2004, he has been involved in strategic planning and change management, business and operations support systems, enterprise resource management, revenue and customer relationship management.
He was later appointed TM programme director for the HSBB project in 2008, and contributed to the successful launch of UniFi.
Ahmad Azhar assumed various positions in TM; including chief strategy officer and chief customer advocate, before he was appointed CDO in October 2016 to head TM’s digital transformation initiatives throughout the group.