KUALA LUMPUR, 28 February 2020 – Media Prima Berhad (“Media Prima” or “the Group”), Malaysia’s largest integrated media group today announced that Datuk Kamal Khalid, would end his tenure as Group Managing Director effective 31 March 2020. 

Datuk Kamal has served the Group in multiple capacities since 2009. These include roles as Chief Executive Officer, Media Prima Television Networks, Chief Operating Officer, Group Shared Services, Chief Operating Officer, Business Development and International and Head of Content Distribution. 

He played a pivotal role in completing the first phase of the Group’s business transformation efforts, Odyssey, which focussed on revenue diversification across three key areas — digital, commerce, and going beyond Malaysia. The phase also saw Media Prima undertake a group-wide restructuring exercise to build a leaner and more agile company, better suited to navigate in today’s constantly changing media environment. During this time, Media Prima emerged as the largest local media player in terms of digital reach and became the number one choice for mobile content in Malaysia. Media Prima’s commerce venture also recorded consecutive annual revenue growth since its launch in 2016 while the Group has been successful in pushing its content and intellectual properties abroad.

The transformation initiatives provided the necessary foundation for corporate recovery moving forward. They have contributed greater revenue to the Group year-on-year. In 2019, Odyssey revenue reached RM318.0 million, contributing to 29% of the Group’s total revenue compared to RM176.4 million or 15% of total revenue in 2017. 

The Board of Directors of Media Prima (“the Board”) expressed its deepest appreciation for his leadership, dedication and contributions. Datuk (Dr) Syed Hussian Aljunid, Group Chairman of Media Prima, said: “Datuk Kamal served Media Prima for almost 11 years, during which he demonstrated immense dedication to lead the company during a very challenging period in Media Prima’s history. Despite the increasingly fragmented and constantly evolving media landscape, Datuk Kamal provided invaluable guidance to the Management team, launched several new business initiatives and worked closely with the Board to address the challenges while maintaining a high standard of governance. We wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Datuk Kamal said: “I believe the time is right to pave the way for a new leadership team to build on the progress the Group has made under phase one of Media Prima’s business transformation plan. It has been an honour and a privilege to be given the opportunity to work with our Board and my colleagues, all of whom have contributed immensely to Media Prima’s success over the years. I would like to thank them for their support. I am indeed pleased to leave Media Prima knowing it has a strong management team to continue with its transformation. I wish them much success.”

Pursuant to this announcement, the Group also announced the appointment of Dato’ Iskandar Mizal Mahmood as Group Managing Director, Media Prima Berhad effective 1 April 2020. He joined Media Prima on 1 October 2019 as Group Executive Director. 

Dato’ Iskandar brings over 30 years of experience with a multitude of companies ranging from multinationals to government-linked companies, spanning from investment banking to the technology sector. He brings this experience to lead the Group in its transformation and turnaround initiatives. He currently also serves on the boards of Theta Edge Berhad and Globetronics Technology Berhad. 

From April 2017 to January 2019, he served as the Group Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and a board member of Granatum Ventures Sdn Bhd, the holding company of Khazanah Nasional Berhad’s creative and media sector, with a portfolio of operations including Iskandar Malaysia Studios, content creation and content financing/investment. He played a key role in turning around the company and bringing international content production companies into Iskandar Malaysia Studios in 2018. He was one of the key figures in the production of Paskal The Movie, one of Malaysia’s highest grossing box office movies, where he was one of the Executive Producers.

Dato’ Iskandar was also a Member of the Lembaga Tabung Haji Investment Panel from 2016 to 2018. He was formerly the Group CEO of Pos Malaysia Berhad, and Group Director of DRB-HICOM Berhad. He served as the Managing Director and CEO of Manipal Education Malaysia Sdn Bhd, founding CEO and a Board member of the Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation Sdn Bhd, and CEO and a Board member of Malaysian Technology Development Corporation Sdn Bhd. Dato’ Iskandar has held several senior management positions and portfolios within Malaysia Airport Holdings, as well as served leading financial institutions including Bumiputra Merchant Bankers Berhad and Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad. He began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co in 1989.   

He graduated from Boston University, United States of America, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accountancy.

The Board is pleased that Dato’ Iskandar has accepted the position of Group Managing Director. Datuk (Dr) Syed said: “Dato’ Iskandar is an experienced and talented leader who will go on to make substantial contributions to the Group moving forward. A seamless transition is expected, given his knowledge of the media industry as well as having served Media Prima in the role of Group Executive Director. We are confident that Dato’ Iskandar will lead Media Prima to new levels of success moving forward. Equally important, the Board believes that the appointment will provide continuity as the Group forges ahead to transform Media Prima into a digital-first content and commerce company.”

Echoing the sentiment, Datuk Kamal added: “I have every confidence in the appointment of Dato’ Iskandar. His leadership, depth of knowledge and existing relationship with the Board and senior management will enable him to integrate seamlessly into the role. I will do everything I can to assist during the transition period.”

END

For further information, kindly contact: 

Media Prima Berhad at +603 1300 300 672 (ext. 8949), [email protected] or +603 2724 8949

Azlan Abdul Aziz at [email protected] or +6012 614 0522

Author: Sophia