Celcom Axiata appoints Idham as CEO
KOTA KINABALU: Celcom Axiata Bhd (Celcom) yesterday announces the appointment of Mohamad Idham Nawawi as its new chief executive officer (CEO) effective September 1, 2018, taking over from Michael Kuehner whose tenure as CEO ends on August 31.
This succession is part of the original plan two years ago to appoint an internal talent for the next phase of transformation. Commenting on the change of leadership, Celcom chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, who is also the president and group CEO of Axiata, speaking also on behalf of the Axiata Board, welcomed Idham as Celcom CEO. With his vast leadership and notable accomplishments in many roles.
“I am confident he will lead Celcom to the next level of transformation into a digital world as well as to pursue our profitable growth strategy,” he said in a statement.
“His decades of industry experience and familiarity of Celcom, being already a Board member, will certainly help him to move quickly in the transition”.
“At the same time, on behalf of the Board of Directors of Celcom and all of us, I would also like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to Michael for his immense contributions and for positioning Celcom solidly for the great opportunities ahead.
"We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Kuehner has made enormous contributions through his vision and relentless drive to transform Celcom into a modern, agile and digital organisation.
His core strategy to provide the best customer experience in the industry saw Celcom achieve significantimprovementsinmany areas in products and services, network quality and coverage especially in the deployment of 4G, sales and distribution as well as digitisation.
Following a well-structured Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and Celcom succession planning and a thorough selection process, the Celcom Board had concluded that Idham is best positioned to take over from Michael.
As an internal talent with excellent management and operational experience within the Group, as well as a member of the Celcom Board, Idham is already well versed in Celcom's strategic directions, operations and challenges.
The Board is confident Idham will be able to move quickly and efficiently to execute on the next phase of transformation.
Idham is an established telecommunications professional with over 25 years of business and operations experience within the telecoms industry in Malaysia and within the region.
He has held various senior management and directorship po sitions with several international and local organizations, including multiple startups.
Idham has served as member of the Board of Directors in Axiata's mobile operating companies in Malaysia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and several Axiata Digital Services companies.
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