TM NAMES CELCOM’S NEW CEO

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today announced the appointment of Dato’ Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, 44, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad, the Group’s cellular arm with effect from 1 September 2005. Dato’ Shazalli will succeed Dato’ Mohamed Yunus Ramli Abbas who will complete his three year tenure as CEO of Celcom on 31 August 2005.

A well known name in the media industry, Dato’ Shazalli brings to Celcom more than 18 years of experience in the field of marketing having worked with a number of major fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies both at home and abroad before joining the broadcasting industry. He is currently the CEO of ntv7, Malaysian 7th terrestrial TV station, a position he held for 8 years since its launch in 1998. Under his leadership, ntv7 successfully secured 28% of television advertising market and recognized for its strong branding of television programmes, innovative media campaigns and new media products. Prior to that, he was the Director of Marketing in Asia Broadcasting Network (ASTRO) for 2 years where he was involved in the earlier launch of ASTRO into the Malaysian market.

Before joining the broadcasting industry, Dato’ Shazalli had earlier left his mark in the FMCG industry when he served the Lever Brothers (1987 – 1993), followed by Malaysian Tobacco Company (MTC) and British American Tobacco (BAT) (1993 – 1996) both in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Among key achievements during his time at Lever Brothers include spearheading the launch of the company’s products into the highly competitive and challenging Indonesian market, re-launch of Lux soap and introduced Lux shower cream for Unilever Malaysia, and helping Lux to regain its leadership position in that segment. Whilst at BAT, Dato’ Shazalli played the key role in leading the exercise to re-vitalise the Benson & Hedges market share in Malaysia. This exercise led to a positive growth for the company, the first after 11 years. He then moved to United Kingdom to take a global position in heading the 555 Brand for Asia.

According to Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar, Group CEO of TM, the appointment of Dato’ Shazalli as the CEO of Celcom was made after a thorough search, “Celcom operates in a highly competitive environment. There is therefore a need to ensure a smooth leadership transition. We need to ensure the new CEO is able to drive the Company from day one. We are therefore looking for people with extensive marketing experience, familiar with the communications and multimedia industry and had the experience of a CEO. I am delighted that we have someone of Dato’ Shazalli’s calibre to join us. Dato’ Shazalli brings with him a rich combination of marketing (especially FMCG) and management leadership and his vast experience in the field will come in handy in meeting the Company’s needs moving forward. I am confident that Dato’ Shazalli will continue the good work that Dato’ Ramli has done and lead Celcom to make its mark in the highly competitive cellular industry.”

Commenting on Dato’ Shazalli’s appointment, Tan Sri Dato’ Ir. Muhammad Radzi Mansor, Chairman, TM and Celcom said, “Please join me in welcoming Dato’ Shazalli to Celcom and the TM Group. I am confident that he will further build on the foundation laid by Dato’ Ramli during his tenure. On behalf of the Board and Management of Celcom, I would also like to take the opportunity to record our appreciation to Dato’ Ramli for his contribution to Celcom. Since joining the Company in September 2002, he has overseen the successful implementation of the Celcom-TMTouch integration, introduced various innovative products to the mobile market. He participated actively in the introduction of 3G services which led Celcom to be the first operator to offer 3G services in the country. Dato’ Ramli has certainly contributed positively to the Group and we wish him all the best in his future undertakings.”

Dato’ Shazali holds a Bachelor of Science (Marketing) from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana and a Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University, Missouri, USA. Dato’ Shazalli is also the vice chairman of the Multimedia Commission Content Forum and he is a member of FAMA board.

In late June, Celcom appointed Azwan Khan Osman Khan, 35, as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Development. Prior to joining Celcom, he was with The Boston Consulting Group for 5 and a half years. His functional expertise includes strategic planning and change management, spanning a wide range of industries and companies across the region including TM.

An engineering graduate with First Class Honours from the Imperial College, University of London, Azwan spent more than seven years at Shell Malaysia from 1993 to 2000 in various capacities including IT development, Retail Marketing, Loyalty Cards and Commercial Marketing. During his career in Shell Malaysia, he was also responsible for designing, setting up and subsequently running the Operations Division of BonusLink, covering IT, Customer Service and Logistics.

The Group places emphasis on continuing customer service quality enhancements and innovations. Currently, with investments and operations in 12 countries around Asia and globally, TM is focused on sustainable growth in both the local and international markets.

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my.

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