Three internal candidates and two external ones are said to be likely candidates to succeed Abdul Wahid Omar as chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Maybank, the country’s largest bank and listed company, according to industry sources.
Wahid was sworn in yesterday as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
The three are Khairussaleh Ramli, head of Maybank’s Indonesian bank, group chief financial officer Mohd Rafique Merican, and investment banking head Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The two external candidates are Jamaludin Ibrahim, who is president and CEO of mobile phone and data operator Axiata, and Bursa Malaysia CEO Tajuddin Atan.
The Maybank board is expected to announce the new CEO shortly.
Sources said Wahid’s recommendation to the board to succeed him was Khairussaleh, a close confidante and someone who worked with Wahid when he was heading up Telekom Malaysia as the head of strategy.
However, sources said that it was by no means certain that the Maybank board, which is noted for its independence, would automatically choose Wahid’s candidate.
As the largest bank in the country and one of the largest in South-East Asia, it may look for someone more experienced and even someone out of the industry to head up Maybank, the largest listed entity in terms of market value on Bursa Malaysia.
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