C-suite changes on the cards at MDEC: sources

Two members of Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation’s (MDEC) C-suite have resigned or are serving their notice period after short stints at the agency, people familiar with the matter told Tech in Asia.

MDEC’s headquarters in Cyberjaya / Photo credit: MDEC

Aiza Azreen Ahmad has resigned as chief digital business officer, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Checks on her LinkedIn profile show that she worked at MDEC, which is tasked with overseeing Malaysia’s digitalization policies, until December 2021.

It is understood that chief financial officer Nora Junita Hussaini is serving her notice period.

Meanwhile, MDEC has brought in Ashran Ghazi, the former CEO of Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre, as a contract-for-service consultant.

An MDEC spokesperson declined to comment when Tech in Asia asked about the resignations and Ashran’s appointment.

The executives who quit had worked at the agency for less than a year. Aiza joined in March after a three-month stint as CEO of Pertama Digital, a govtech company listed on Bursa Malaysia.

Nora Junita, a chartered accountant, joined MDEC last year on January 21.

Both were hired under the agency’s then-CEO Surina Shukri and non-executive chairman Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff.

Surina was succeeded by Mahadhir Aziz, who took over the reins as MDEC’s chief executive on September 1. He is the former CEO of Futurise, a government agency under the Finance Ministry with a mandate to oversee the National Regulatory Sandbox program.

Md Alwi Che Ahmad took over from Rais as chairman, and his two-year tenure began on December 1.

Both Rais and Md Alwi are political appointees. Rais is a former supreme council member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party while Md Alwi is the Kok Lanas state assemblyman and a member of the United Malays National Organisation, the country’s ruling political party.

Established in 1996, MDEC is under the purview of the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.

MDEC is also governed by the Finance Ministry, which serves as the golden shareholder that approves board appointments.