AirAsia X appoints former Axiata chief Jamaludin as independent non-executive director after completing major consolidation

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, the former long-time CEO of Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA), has been appointed as an independent non-executive director at AirAsia X (KL:AAX).

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, AAX said Jamaludin brings over four decades of executive experience across the IT and telecommunications sectors, including 27 years as CEO, with a strong track record in scaling businesses, driving large-scale transformations and leading the public listings of several multi-billion-dollar companies.

Jamaludin, 66, served as group CEO of Axiata from 2008 to 2020. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Maxis Communications from 1998 to 2007, and held senior roles at Digital Equipment Corporation Malaysia and IBM Malaysia.

Jamaludin currently chairs QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd and sits on the boards of Australian-listed companies SEEK Ltd and NEXTDC Ltd, while also serving as pro-chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

He was also the chairman of AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd and Prasarana Malaysia, and was a member of both the government's Economic Action Council and the Digital Economy Council.

Jamaludin holds no shares in AAX.

His appointment comes as AAX consolidates the short-haul and medium-haul aviation operations of the AirAsia Group following its acquisition of the aviation businesses from parent Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) last month.

The transaction unified the group’s seven airlines under a single banner and was completed via the issuance of 2.31 billion new AAX shares to Capital A and its entitled shareholders, alongside the assumption of RM3.8 billion previously owed by Capital A to AirAsia Bhd.

The enlarged AAX group concurrently alloted 606 million new shares to third-party investors through a fully subscribed RM1 billion private placement.

The consolidation, AAX said earlier, is expected to unlock operational and financial efficiencies through improved fleet utilisation, integrated network planning and a more resilient operating platform supported by Capital A’s wider travel and digital ecosystem.

AAX is also evaluating a proposed name change to reflect the unified airline structure, though no decision has been finalised.

Shares of AAX closed up three sen or 1.51% at RM2.02 on Tuesday, with a market capitalisation of RM6.79 billion. Over the past one year, the counter has gained 74.1%.