ANNUAL REPORT 2015
THE THIRD ISSUE
AIRASIA X BERHAD
40
PROFILE OF THE
LEADERSHIP TEAM
BENYAMIN ISMAIL
Chief Executive Officer
Benyamin Ismail, Malaysian, aged 39, was
appointed as Chief Executive Officer on
1 September 2015.
He joined AirAsia Berhad in March 2010
as the Head of Investor Relations, bringing
with him eight years of experience in
Investment Banking focusing on Debt
Capital Markets. The Investor Relations
(IR) function had been set up by AirAsia
CEO Aireen Omar, who recruited Ben to
spearhead the new unit. His role as the
head of Investor Relations required wide
knowledge and understanding of the
company, and made him answerable to
the Group CEO, Group Deputy CEO, CEO
and CFO. On top of his main role at IR, Ben
also assisted the Corporate Finance and
Fuel Procurement unit.
He played a critical role in AirAsia’s growth
into one of the most attractive companies
on Bursa Malaysia in terms of transparency,
investor returns and corporate governance.
Engaging with domestic and international
broking houses,he created greater visibility
of AirAsia which at one point was one of
the most covered stocks, on the radar of
no less than 30 brokerages.
AirAsia was duly awarded Best Investor
Relations Company and Best CEO four
years in a row by Corporate Governance
Asia, with Benyamin named the Best
Investor Relations Officer four consecutive
times. He also received the Best IR
Professional award in 2011 and 2012
by Bursa’s Malaysian Investor Relations
Association (MIRA).
Before joining AirAsia, Benyamin worked
for three years in CIMB Investment Bank in
Kuala Lumpur focusing on Debt Capital
Markets.Prior toCIMB,hewas withMaybank
Investment Bank and Affin Investment
Bank handling their Debt Capital Market
portfolios.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce
(Banking & Finance) from Curtin University
of Technology, Australia and a Master’s in
Electronic Commerce from Edith Cowan
University,Australia.He representedWestern
Australia in the Rowing Nationals in his first
two years at university and is currently
active in football, basketball and muay
thai.
He does not hold any directorship in
Malaysian public companies, has no
family relationship with any director and/
or substantial shareholder of the Company
and has no conflict of interest with the
Company. He has not been convicted for
offences within the past 10 years other
than traffic offences, if any. Currently, he
has no shareholdings in the Company.
CHEOK HUEI SHIAN
Chief Financial Officer
Cheok Huei Shian joined AirAsia X Berhad
as Chief Financial Officer on 26 February
2015, bringing with her over 15 years of
experience in finance and operations
management.
She was a part of the core team in the
early days of AirAsia and over the years has
played an instrumental role in the success
of AirAsia, including the Company’s listing
on Bursa Malaysia. She has also been a
key member of the turnaround team that
oversees the entire AirAsia Group.
Since joining AirAsia in 2004, she has held
senior leadership roles across the Group.
From 2011-2014, she served as the Chief
Financial Officer of PT Indonesia AirAsia,
where she played a key role in streamlining
the finance function with AirAsia Berhad,
creating synergies between finance,
operations and marketing to support
strategic business objectives and drive
profitable growth.
Prior to joining AirAsia, she was with Ernst
& Young in the Financial and Advisory
Service Department.
She is a fellow member of the Association
of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA) and a member of the Malaysian
Institute of Accountants (MIA).
MOSES DEVANAYAGAM
Senior Director
Moses joined AirAsia X in July 2007 as
Director of Operations and is currently
our Senior Director. He was instrumental in
setting up the Operations function, which
includes Flight Operations, Engineering,
Group Operations, In-Flight Operations
and the Safety and Security functions.
He also spearheaded the move to
KLIA 2, a milestone for AirAsia X and AirAsia
Group, in 2014. Currently, Moses leads
the coordination of operational functions
with the AirAsia Group, Airport authorities
and Government agencies including the
Malaysian Aviation Commission. He has 44
years of experience in the aviation industry,
having worked at Malaysia-Singapore
airlines from 1971-1972 as an apprentice
and subsequently Malaysian Airline
System Berhad from 1972-2007, where
he held various key positions, including
General Manager-Operations, Head of
Contracts Management and Warranty
and Contracts Manager.
He has been an Associate Member of
the Royal Aeronautical Institute United
Kingdom (by award) since 1975. He
completed a cadet/apprentice technical
services in-house training programme with
Malaysia-Singapore Airlines in 1972, and
type-rating courses at Qantas and Air New
Zealand in 1971.
CAPTAIN SURESH BANGAH
Flight Operations Director
Captain Suresh joined AirAsia X in October
2010 as Chief Pilot, Operations. In October
2013,he was promoted to Flight Operations
Director responsible for coordinating,
supervising and monitoring the functions
and performance of management
personnel, pilots, cabin crew and all
departments within Flight Operations. He
is also responsible for the management of
safety and security of all flights operated
by AirAsia X. He acts as the liaison person
with local and international regulators
in ensuring operations are in line with
the conditions and restrictions of the Air
Operator Certificate. He also represents
the company's interest in national and
international bodies and institutions as far
as flight operations are concerned.
Captain Suresh began his career with
the AirAsia Group in March 2003. Prior
to AirAsia X, he was an internal auditor
within Flight Operations at AirAsia Berhad
in 2005. In December 2009, he was made
a Cadet Pilot Coordinator to manage
the Cadet Pilot Training Programme. Soon
after, he assumed the position of Flight
Deck Recruitment Manager responsible
for hiring pilots of different entry levels, and
promoting pilots internally.
