CIMB reorganises senior leadership as Effendy Shahul Hamid departs

CIMB Group Holdings (CIMB Group) has reorganised its senior leadership team following the resignation of CEO of group consumer and digital banking Effendy Shahul Hamid (pictured). Effendy will remain as an advisor to the group CEO until the end of June 2025. He will also be relinquishing his positions on the boards of CIMB Group companies, including chairman of TNG Digital and as a board member in Touch'n go and CIMB Vietnam. 

Effendy has spent the last 20 years in CIMB, having led numerous business units at the banking Group. Beginning his CIMB career in investment banking, Effendy then took on leadership positions that saw him building out the marketing and communications discipline at CIMB. In the role, he reorganised its proprietary investments and asset management practices, turning around its commercial bank, building its digital business portfolio. Most recently, he ran its key customer franchise, the consumer bank.

Effendy is also credited with driving the nation’s cashless agenda, conceptualising and executing the Touch n’ Go eWallet joint venture between CIMB’s 100% subsidiary, Touch n’ Go and China’s Ant Group.

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“Effendy is a highly respected banker and we are sad to see him go. The board and management wish him the best, and we appreciate his loyalty and commitment to the group over the last 20 years,” said Novan Amirudin, group chief executive officer, CIMB Group. Following Effendy's departure, CIMB Group has named several senior-level appointments which will take effect on 1 February this year. 

To better align with the group’s strategic roadmap, group consumer and digital banking will be decoupled to ensure greater focus in growing both businesses. Following which, Haniz Nazlan, who joined CIMB Group as group chief strategy officer in 2021, is appointed CEO for group consumer banking.

Since joining, Haniz has played a pivotal role in the conceptualisation and execution of key enterprise level initiatives, such as the successful execution of the Forward 23+ strategic plan, CIMB Cambodia’s transformation, CIMB’s re-entry into the securities business, and many more. Haniz brings over 18 years of deep expertise in corporate strategy and asset management, having held several leadership positions as the head of strategic asset allocation and investment analysis at Permodalan Nasional and chief investment officer at Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera.

Meanwhile, Gurdip Singh Sindhu will now oversee CIMB's digital business, which includes Touch'n Go, Touch 'n Go Digital, CIMB Philippines and CIMB Vietnam, alongside his role as CEO, CIMB Malaysia and CIMB Bank. Having spent the last 18 years at CIMB in various senior leadership roles, Sindhu will provide focus and drive strategic priorities to take the Malaysian franchise as well as the group’s digital assets to the next level. This would include driving greater operating resiliency and effectiveness, innovation and growth.

In tandem, the group is expanding Khairul Rifaie's responsibiltiy to assume the group chief strategy officer role. This is in addition to his group chief financial officer position. As GCSO, Khairul will lead and drive CIMB Group's new strategic roadmap in a holistic manner. He began his career at KMPG in London but gained most of his experience as an Equity Analyst with Goldman Sachs in London and UBS in Malaysia before joining CIMB Group.

Victor Lee Meng Teck has also been appointed CEO of growth markets, covering CIMB Singapore and CIMB Cambodia. Under his leadership of CIMB Singapore as CEO, Lee has successfully turned around the company through operating model refresh, strategic organisational restructuring, and culture reform. Lee has over 25 years of experience in significant parts of the universal banking value chain, including notable stints with Fullerton Financial Holdings, United Overseas Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Citibank.

Finally, CIMB Group has included Ros Aziah Mohd Yusoff into the CIMB Group executive committee and Animesh Mukherjee as group chief people officer, reporting directly to the group CEO. 

The reorganisation, according to a statement seen by A+M, further advocates for a purpose-driven, empowered and dynamic organisation. “The new organisation structure reflects CIMB’s purpose, strengthens our leadership bench, and consolidates related roles to enhance synergies across the Group. It is designed to enable greater focus and accountability as we advance the group’s strategic priorities into the next strategy cycle while ensuring operational resiliency," said Novan. 

Most recently, the group co-hosted the first edition of Invest Malaysia 2025 series in London, bringing together the government, leading Malaysian corporates and global institutional investors to promote Malaysia as a key investment destination. 

Themed “Malaysia’s economic resurgence, driving ASEAN’s growth”, the event lasted over 1.5 days, attended by more than 200 delegates comprising foreign fixed income, equity and private equity investors with a combined total asset under management (“AUM”) of more than US$50.7 trillion. The event was specially curated to provide in-depth insights into Malaysia’s economic outlook, dynamic economic policies, and ASEAN-focus initiatives, showcasing the country’s standing as an attractive hub for global investments. 

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