MDeC board shortlists 6 for CEO's post

PETALING JAYA: The Multimedia Development Corp's (MDeC) board of directors has narrowed down the search for its next CEO to a shortlist of six candidates.
"There are six candidates – four external and two internal. There are rumours that the prime minister has already made up his mind (on the new CEO) but it has not been announced yet," a source close to the matter told SunBiz.
The external candidates include YTL Communications executive director Yasmin Mahmood, Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq and SME Corp Malaysia deputy CEO Saifol Bahri Shamlan, the source said.
It is understood that internal candidates up for consideration are MDeC's vice president of corporate strategy Datuk Dan E Khoo and COO Ng Wan Peng.
Earlier this month, an online news site reported that MDeC's board would recommend Yasmin as the new CEO, replacing Datuk Badlisham Ghazali who left to join Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd as managing director.
Yasmin was previously the managing director at Microsoft Malaysia before joining YTL Communications. Redza and Saifol, however, have both worked at MDeC previously.
During his stint at MDeC, Redza was tasked with ensuring the financial sustainability of MDeC and its venture capital subsidiary as well as the financial restructuring of MDeC. Prior to his appointment at NCIA, he was managing director of Cyberview Sdn Bhd.
Redza was tipped as the most likely candidate to succeed Badlisham before news of Yasmin being the frontrunner surfaced.
Saifol was the vice president of Digital Economy Enablement before leaving MDeC in January 2013. Last October, he joined SME Corp as deputy CEO.
Khoo's responsibilities at MDeC include business intelligence, strategy formulation, policy and key action initiative development as well as enterprise performance management. He also heads the Digital Malaysia Directorate, which drives the implementation of Digital Malaysia.
He is also chairman emeritus of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) and served two terms as WITSA chairman from 2008 till 2012.
Ng's appointment as COO was approved by MDeC's board of directors in 2009. As COO, her responsibilities cover all operational matters and she was tasked to head three specific areas namely resource management, strategy execution and coordination, as well as operational quality and efficiency management.
Prior to the appointment, she was the vice president of MDeC's capacity development division.
Last Friday, Minister of Communication and Multimedia Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek told reporters that stakeholders are working with headhunters in short listing the candidates.
"We are in the selection process now and will announce the new CEO soon," he told reporters at the sidelines of MDeC's Digital Malaysia media briefing.
Shabery declined to provide further details, and neither confirmed nor denied that they are currently looking at a shortlist of six candidates.
A three-person exco team is running MDeC in the interim.