Malaysia government-linked Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd has appointed Rafiza Ghazali as the group chief executive officer while Grab Thailand’s country head Tarin Thaniyavarn is said to have resigned from his post.
Rafiza Ghazali appointed as Cradle Fund CEO
Malaysia’s government-linked venture capital fund Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd has appointed Rafiza Ghazali as the group chief executive officer effective June 1, 2020.
Rafiza is currently the chief financial officer at Velesto Energy Bhd, a Malaysia-based multinational player in the upstream oil & gas sector, Cradle Fund said in a statement on Monday.
Rafiza started her career at Arthur Anderson & Co. in Australia and later held senior roles at Bank Negara Malaysia, RHB Investment Bank Bhd, Thomson Reuters and Sime Darby Bhd.
“Rafiza’s appointment reinforces the Board’s commitment to ensuring Cradle’s role in creating a sustainable ecosystem for the startup community. Our immediate priority in this current COVID-19 crisis is to enable the Malaysian startups and tech entrepreneurs to navigate through the challenges and to evolve with the changing landscape. This search for the CEO role has gone through an extensive process, working closely with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF),” said Cradle Fund chairman Yvonne Chia.
Meanwhile, Razif Abdul Aziz, currently the acting group CEO, will resume his role as the chief operating officer from June 1, 2020.
Grab Thailand country head resigns
Singapore-headquartered ride-hailing unicorn Grab’s Thailand country head Tarin Thaniyavarn is said to have resigned from his post, according to a report in Bangkok Post.
“After having led and given my life to transforming Grab Thailand for over two years, I have decided to pursue my own dream and to chart my own course, the next chapter in life,” Tarin reportedly wrote on his Facebook Page.
Grab has yet to respond to DealStreetAsia’s query at the time of publishing.
Tarin’s LinkedIn profile shows his tenure at Grab Thailand was until April 2020. Tarin became the country head of Grab Thailand on April 1, 2018.
He was the executive vice president for group strategy and government relations at e-commerce Lazada prior to his appointment at Grab Thailand. Previously, he has also served as a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group.
