Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani is leaving UEM Group Bhd to become the managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 31): UEM Group Bhd confirmed on Wednesday that its managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani is leaving the engineering-based infrastructure company to take over as the MD of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:AIRPORT).

The Edge Malaysia weekly had reported on June 17 that Mohd Izani was one of the candidates being considered to helm MAHB's top board, to expedite the privatisation of the airport operator. UEM has a 33% stake in MAHB, having surfaced as a substantial shareholder in mid-May after Khazanah transferred its shares to UEM as part of a proposed privatisation plan

The MD seat at MAHB was left vacant after the departure of Datuk Seri Iskandar Mizal Mahmood in October last year.

Mohd Izani’s appointment to the airport operator’s board is effective Thursday (Aug 1), according to MAHB in a bourse filing.

Mohd Izani, 56, who holds a degree in economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK, has served UEM, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, for nearly six years since he was appointed as an executive director in January 2019, and eight months later promoted to MD.

Prior to joining UEM, he was the executive director of the investment division at Khazanah and the chief financial officer of Khazanah.

Meanwhile, MAHB has named Zeid Abdul Razak, 43, as its new CFO, effective Thursday, in place of Mohamed Rastam Shahrom, who is stepping down “to pursue a new career opportunity”.

Mohamed Rastam, 53, has been serving MAHB as its acting group chief executive officer since October 2023. It was reported that Mohamed Rastam is leaving MAHB to join RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK) as its CFO.

Meanwhile, Zeid, who holds a degree in accounting from Universiti Malaya, has been with MAHB since 2014, serving in various roles including regulatory economics, investor relations, a finance business partner and treasury.

“He played a pivotal role in leading negotiations and securing MAHB's operating rights for 45 years under new operating agreements with the government of Malaysia, paving the way for the sustainable growth of Malaysia's airport network,” MAHB said in a statement.

Shares in MAHB finished eight sen or 0.79% higher at RM10.24 on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM17.09 billion. The counter has risen 36% since the beginning of this year.