KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has appointed a former regulator and a banker as members of its board in a move seen as strengthening the national oil company.
The appointment of Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar and Datuk Sharifah Sofianny Syed Hussain took effect from Aug 7 and today, respectively.
The 64-year-old Zarinah was most known for holding a six-year term as chairman of the Securities Commission (SC) and having spent 22 years at Shell Malaysia.
She was appointed as chairman to the board of Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd in July 2013 and is currently a visiting fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic studies in the United Kingdom.
Before joining the SC, she was with the Shell Group, serving in various capacities across Shell’s diverse business interests in Malaysia.
She was the deputy chairman of Shell Malaysia before leaving to join the SC.
It is understood that Zarinah’s appointment to Petronas’ board is part of the Government’s commitment to have a higher representation of female leadership in the Malaysian workforce.
Meanwhile, Sharifah Sofianny started her career with Shell Malaysia, serving in auditing and accountancy roles.
In 2012, she was appointed as Maybank Investment Bhd’s head of institutional equities and has held various senior roles within the group.
Petronas recently saw a changing of the guard in the form of the departure of Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas at its helm, with the reins being handed over to new chief executive officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.
It is speculated that more board changes are in the offing, with a few new ones to come in while some existing board members may leave when their terms end.
Source: The Star
