Idris Jala is set to become chairman of Heineken Malaysia Bhd (formerly Guinness Malaysia Bhd) from Jan 1, 2017. The brewery company made a filing with Bursa Malaysia recently, stating that Idris will take over from Saw Choo Boon who has decided to retire as chairman on Dec 31, The Star reported yesterday. “Idris Jala is a renowned transformation guru in turning around companies’ performance through his big fast results methodology and transformational strategies that are innovative, rigorous and relevant to today’s demands. SEE ALSO: Manolo Blahnik opens its first Malaysian store “He has continuously delivered sustainable socio economic reforms which, in 2014, saw Bloomberg place him among the top 10 most influential policy makers in the world,” Heineken Malaysia said in a statement released yesterday on the appointment. Idris will continue to serve as the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) chief executive officer. He is also the managing director of Big Fast Results Institute, according to the daily. He had previously served as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for six years, and was responsible for leading the national transformation programmes under the Najib administration. Before his government stint, Idris helped to turnaround Malaysia Airlines (MAS) from the long-term losses it was suffering, with his appointment as managing director/CEO of the national carrier in 2005. He served MAS for three years. Prior to that, Idris was in Shell spending 23 years in the oil and gas giant. He rose up the ranks and eventually became vice-president (Shell Retail International) and vice-president (business development consultancy) based in the UK.
Heineken Malaysia name Idris Jala as new chairman
