Org Chart: The people behind Boost

Org Chart maps out the people at the top of Asia’s most prominent tech companies. Who are the key decision-makers? How are the teams organized? What does it tell us about the company’s priorities? We continue this series with Malaysian fintech company Boost.

Boost, the fintech arm of Kuala Lumpur-based telco giant Axiata, recently made headlines when it bagged the highly coveted digital banking license in Malaysia together with RHB Bank.

Launched in 2017, Boost was initially under Axiata Digital as the subsidiary’s e-wallet arm. This was when parent firm Axiata ventured into the digital space with a mandate to grow Malaysia’s first tech unicorn.

That ambition was somewhat realized in June 2020 when life insurance firm Great Eastern invested US$70 million for a 21.8% stake in Boost, valuing the company at US$320 million at the time. But it was used-car platform Carsome that beat Boost to the punch in being crowned Malaysia’s first unicorn.

The Great Eastern deal, more than just providing capital, also saw Boost become a holding company. It now had four core businesses: lifestyle app Boost Life, merchant solutions platform Boost Biz, microinsurance and microfinancing arm Boost Credit, and cross-border payments gateway Boost Connect.

At the helm of Boost is group CEO Sheyantha Abeykoon, an Axiata veteran who joined the telco giant’s Sri Lankan unit in 2013. Abeykoon then became the CFO of Axiata Digital in 2017 before taking on the CEO mantle in 2021.

Among the four aforementioned subsidiaries, only Boost Credit doesn’t have a CEO.

Eric Chong, a sales veteran, heads Boost Biz. His work experience revolves around the telco space, particularly in enterprise sales. Chong also has experience working in key telco multinationals including Malaysia’s Axiata and Digi.Com, Indonesia’s PT Smartfren Telecom, and Australia’s Syniverse.

Raja Mansukhani, who also comes from a telco or teleservices background, leads Boost Connect. He joined Axiata in 2009 as its assistant vice president overseeing group operations. Before that, he worked in Indian-based firms such as Tata Teleservices and Tech Mahindra. He joined Boost as executive director in charge of revenue prior to working his way up to becoming the Boost Connect chief.

Meanwhile, Ungku Norliza Ungku Halmie, an auditor by training, is Boost Life’s CEO. She debuted at Axiata in 2010 as an assistant vice president for business and planning performance and would go on to become Axiata Digital’s CFO in 2014. She joined Boost as finance operations director in 2017.

Currently, Boost tells Tech in Asia that it has more than 10 million users and a merchant base of nearly 500,000 touchpoints in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

But despite having a government-linked company as its parent firm, it still has a lot of ground to cover especially in cementing itself as a dominant player in the fintech space. Axiata is majority owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.

Notably, Boost was missing from a recent government initiative that channeled credits to Malaysian youth between the ages of 18 and 20. The eligible e-wallet providers chosen for the program were Grab, Shopee, BigPay, and Touch ‘n Go.