KUALA LUMPUR (April 6): Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor Bhd (KPS) has appointed Rita Benoy Bushon and Norliza Kamaruddin as independent non-executive directors as part of its commitment to board diversification.

The appointments take effect from April 6 and will result in the expansion of the board to 10 members from eight previously, KPS said in a statement today.

Its chairman Raja Datuk Idris Raja Kamarudin said the appointment of the "two accomplished women" underscored the company's commitment to embracing gender diversity, as well as the expansion of the board's "breadth of experience" given that they had led in their respective fields.

Bushon is currently the regulatory and trade adviser to the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia, and strategic adviser to London-based Green & Smart Holdings Plc.

She has extensive experience in the capital markets, having served 23 years at the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) where she held numerous senior positions such as Head of Equity Research, Head of External Portfolio Management, Head of Private Equity, Head of Corporate Surveillance and Head of Corporate Planning.

She also co-founded the Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group in 2002 and led the organisation as CEO from 2009 to 2016. She is also an active international advocate of corporate governance, having chaired two committees of the International Corporate Governance Network from 2011 to 2014. In addition she has sat on the boards of public listed companies Land & General Bhd and KFC Holdings (M) Bhd.

A communications specialist, Norliza is currently the managing director of FTI Consulting, a global business consultancy firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange. She also serves on the Industrial Advisory Panel for Strategic Communications at Multimedia University Malaysia, and on the Board of Trustees for the Standard Chartered Foundation.

Her communications experience spans over more than 25 years across a variety of sectors including energy, finance, banking, aviation, telecommunications and hospitality. Her expertise in various communications practices includes reputation management, communications strategy, strategic planning, corporate and government stakeholder management, crisis communications, and internal communications.

Positions previously held by her include global head of strategic communications for Petronas and country head of corporate affairs at Standard Chartered in Malaysia