KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd has appointed Nik Rizal Kamil Nik Ibrahim Kamil as group chief executive officer (CEO) effective from June 1, succeeding Vivek Sood.

Nik Rizal joined Axiata in January 2024 as group chief financial officer (CFO), bringing extensive experience and deep expertise across business finance, investments and accounting.

He currently serves on the boards of several Axiata Group companies namely CelcomDigi Bhd, PT XLSMART Telecom Sejahtera Tbk, Robi Axiata PLC, EDOTCO Group Sdn Bhd and PT Link Net Tbk.

Prior to his role in Axiata, Nik Rizal served as group CFO of RHB Bank Bhd since February 2021.

Before that, he held the executive director role for investments at Khazanah Nasional Bhd, where he led key investment and divestment initiatives, value creation programmes and private equity strategies across domestic and international markets in the telecommunications, media and technology sector.

Prior to Khazanah, Nik Rizal had spent a good part of a decade with Royal Dutch Shell group of companies in both the upstream and downstream sectors in Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

"I am honoured by the board's confidence in identifying me as the next group CEO and managing director for Axiata.

"I have had the privilege of working closely with our talented teams across the organisation and contributing to the execution of Axiata's strategy. I look forward to continuing to work alongside Vivek and the broader management team to ensure continuity and a smooth transition as I step up to my new responsibilities," said Nik Rizal.

Vivek has served the group for nine years in various capacities, including group CEO and managing director since 2023.

Prior to his appointment as group CEO, Vivek was the group chief financial officer for Axiata.