Benyamin Ismail moves from main airline IR department to long-haul franchise
Following a major reshuffling at AirAsia X, the long-haul arm of the AirAsia low-cost airline brand, it has been announced that Datuk Kamarudin bin Meranun is to replace Azran Osman-Rani as group CEO, while Benyamin Ismail, AirAsia’s IRO, is moving to AirAsia X as acting CEO.
‘Over the past few months, we saw the company facing challenges in a difficult environment,’ says Bin Meranum in a statement. ‘After a thorough review, a decisive turnaround plan was initiated to put the company on substantially better financial footing to ensure we bring back confidence to the market. We have a solid company here, and together with Ben, who has a thorough understanding of the AirAsia and AirAsia X business model and the culture that has made AirAsia a leading airline, I am truly confident about turning this company around and bringing it to profitable growth.’
Ismail joined AirAsia in 2010 to head the IR department, having previously worked in debt capital markets for two major Malaysian financial groups, Maybank and CIMB. He holds a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance from Curtin University of Technology and a master’s of commerce degree from Edith Cowan University. He most recently served as group head of corporate development, implementation and investor relations at the Kuala Lumpur-headquartered company.
This isn’t the first time an IRO has taken on the top job at the Malaysian airline group: in June 2012 Aireen Omar, former head of corporate finance, treasury and investor relations for six years, was appointed regional CEO of AirAsia Malaysia.
AirAsia and AirAsia X are ‘separate legal entities operating different business models’, both listed on the Bursa Malaysia. ‘We work together and constantly communicate,’ AirAsia X’s IRO Josie Chin explained to IR Magazine last December. ‘Each team provides a weekly report that is consolidated and disseminated to group-wide management, so everyone is well informed on both IR teams’ activities and industry news.’ All IR team members within the group use the common Twitter handle @AirAsia_IR, though ‘investor roadshows and conferences are conducted separately.’
AirAsia’s share price gained more than 23 per cent year-on-year, while AirAsia X saw its stock plummet by 35 percent over the same period. The long-haul branch, which includes AirAsia X, Thai AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia Extra, has suffered severe losses over the past two years, which have prompted analysts and investors to inquire mainly about when the company will turn around, says Chin.
AirAsia X’s financials may be in the doldrums, but the firm nevertheless delivered a top-notch communications program around its 2013 IPO: the long-haul airline won the prize for best IR for an IPO at the IR Magazine Awards – South East Asia 2013. Its parent company also made a maiden appearance in the IR Magazine Asia Top 50 list in 43rd position last year and attracted three award nominations, including for the grand prix for best overall IR in the small and mid-cap category.
Candice de Monts-Petit
Candice de Monts-Petit joined IR Magazine as a senior editor in 2012. Prior to this, she worked in investor relations, first as an IRO for oil and gas firms in Paris and Moscow and subsequently as an IR consultant in London. She graduated in business...
