KUALA LUMPUR – Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata” or “the Group”) announced that Dato’ Izzaddin Idris will step down from his position as President & Group Chief Executive Officer (Group CEO) effective 31 May 2022. His stepping down is based on a mutual cessation of his service contract between him and Axiata.

The Board has appointed Axiata’s Chief Executive Officer for its Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Vice President Dr Hans Wijayasuria, and Group Chief Financial Officer Vivek Sood as interim joint acting Group CEOs effective 1 June 2022. They will retain their current positions and portfolios. The Board does not expect to make additional structural or senior leadership changes in the near-term.

Axiata’s Chairman Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said, “The Board thanks Dato’ Izzaddin for his wisdom, leadership and contributions in steering the Group over the past two years. He took the helm on 1st January 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, after serving as Deputy Group CEO since January 2020. He has been instrumental in shaping the Group’s strategic response to secure stability and business continuity in the face of daunting and unprecedented challenges across many aspects of our operations.”

“Having served as a member of Axiata’s Board since November 2016, he was steadfast in translating the Axiata 5.0 Vision into execution. He rallied the team, building on Axiata’s modern, agile and digital culture to deliver several significant milestones that have placed the Group on solid trajectory to capture new growth areas for a sustainable future.”

“The Board assures all our stakeholders that Axiata has always had a strong culture of succession planning and we are committed towards ensuring a smooth transition and preserving the momentum Axiata has achieved thus far with the Axiata 5.0 Vision. The appointment of Dr Hans Wijayasuria and Vivek Sood as joint acting Group CEOs will ensure continuity in this situation.”

“In the appointment of Dr Hans and Vivek as joint Group CEOs, we have two industry stalwarts who are very familiar with Axiata’s businesses. They are both strongly grounded in our culture and deeply committed to the success of our ventures.”