4 contenders for Proton deputy CEO position

Published: Saturday August 3, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday August 3, 2013 MYT 1:20:48 PM
4 contenders for Proton deputy CEO position

BY CHOONG EN HAN

PETALING JAYA: Four names have surfaced as contenders to fill the position of deputy chief executive officer at Proton Holdings Bhd, following the surprise resignation of Datuk Lukman Ibrahim on Monday.

Sources said the names being bandied about were DRB-Hicom group director for automotive and defence Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah, Proton group technical procurement head Khairuddin Yusof, Proton technical operations head Abdul Rashid Musa and DRB-Hicom manufacturing and engineering general manager Ainol Azmil Abu Bakar.

Harith currently oversees the entire automotive division of DRB-Hicom, which generates the lion’s share of the group’s revenue.

Khairuddin, the former chief executive of Puspakom, is said to be heavily involved in Proton’s vendor rationalisation process aimed at trimming the fat from Proton’s vendor system.

Abdul Rashid, meanwhile, is no stranger to the automotive business, being the former CEO of Hicom Automotive Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd. In his current capacity, he manages DRB-Hicom’s assembly plant in Pekan, Pahang, that assembles the Mercedes-Benz C, E and S class series, Fuso, Actros and bus chassis as well as the Suzuki Swift.

Lastly, Ainol – formerly Honda Malaysia’s procurement general manager – is an automotive parts expert in the assembly of a range of completely-knocked-down models, including Volkswagen, Suzuki and Honda.

Industry observers said that Lukman’s resignation “to pursue his own interests” had left a void at the national carmaker, given that he was seen as the right-hand man of Proton executive chairman Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil.

According to sources, Khamil, who is also the managing director of the DRB-Hicom group, might undertake some reorganisation as early as next week. This might also involve some key personnel being moved within DRB-Hicom.

They also do not rule out DRB-Hicom tapping talent from within the wider group of companies owned by the common shareholder, similar to former DRB-Hicom chief operating officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Nor’s appointment as MMC Corp Bhd’s group managing director.

In the past one year, Lukman had assisted Proton in raising the group’s core business operations.

“Proton sales have been suffering from a lacklustre period, but things have changed since the launch of the Proton Saga SV, which pushed their sales to over 16,000 units in July alone,” one source said.

Numbers released by the Malaysian Automotive Association up till June showed that Proton had sold about 8,800 units on average during the past six months, and that the national carmaker would be breaking sales records with its July sales figure since the takeover by DRB-Hicom.