Syed Mohamed is IIB new CEO

 

Dato' Syed Mohamed at the Malaysian Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

 

This morning, Khazanah Holdings Bhd. CEO Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar held a townhall meeting with Iskandar Investment Bhd. in Johor Bahru. The end of contract for CEO Arlida Ariff was officially announced. The opportunity was also used to introduce IIB incoming CEO Dato’ Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, who will assume office on 1 November 2010.

This is the IIB press statement for the announcement:

Johor Bahru, 8 October 2010 – Iskandar Investment Berhad is pleased to announce the appointment of Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Iskandar Investment Berhad effective from 1 November 2010.

Datuk Syed Mohamed will take over the helm of the Company from Puan Arlida Ariff, whose contract ends on 31 December 2010.

Datuk Syed Mohamed is a native son of Johor and has spent many years in property development, hospitality & leisure, construction and facility management industry. This experience will be particularly valued in the next stage of development of IIB’s projects, as developments move towards project completion and become operational.

Datuk Syed Mohamed is currently Group Director – Property & Infrastructure of DRB Hicom Berhad. He had previously served as the CEO of TH Properties Sdn Bhd, General Manager of Sime Darby Land Sdn Bhd and the Head of Corporate Planning Division of Johor State Economic & Development Corporation.

Datuk Syed Mohamed’s experience in both State and Federal Government-linked companies would serve IIB well given its unique nature as a catalyst developer. He also spent some time working abroad as the Chief Operating Officer of Knowledge Economic City Developers Company Limited in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Company would like to thank Puan Arlida Ariff for her contribution throughout her tenure at IIB.

Significant progress has been achieved under her stewardship including bringing together reputable international partners and investors to establish developments in Medini and EduCity such as LEGOLAND Malaysia, Newcastle University of Medicine Malaysia, Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology, 1Medini, Management Development Institute of Singapore as well as Marlborough College Malaysia. IIB has also put in place infrastructure developments in Iskandar Malaysia including the Coastal Highway on which future developments will be built upon.

We wish Puan Arlida the best in her future undertakings.

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Syed Mohamed’s appointment came highly recommended. He had the wealth of experience in developing townships and new communities.

The Star report on Syed Mohamed’s appointment to head the project in Saudi Arabia, thirty two months ago to head the Knowledge Economic City, Madinah:

Monday February 18, 2008

Syed Mohamed going to Saudi Arabia for big offer

By FOONG PEK YEE

DATUK Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim not only wants to give his best in everything he does but also likes challenges that will enable him to bring out his best.

This is the man whose name in the corporate circle is synonymous with the RM9.2bil smart township, @enstek in Negri Sembilan – a project by TH Properties Sdn Bhd where he was the chief executive officer. He left the company last month, after a four-year stint.

Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim

In March, the Universiti Malaya economics graduate will be heading to Saudi Arabia for a bigger challenge – to helm the development of the Madinah Knowledge Economic City (K.E.C. Madinah), a RM25bil project.

“K.E.C. Madinah ranks third (in value and size) among the six economic cities to be developed throughout Saudi Arabia, after King Abdullah Economic City and Jazan Economic City,” said Syed Mohamed, 50.

He decided to take up the offer after he and his wife Datin Zaidah Zakaria visited Saudi Arabia in June last year.

While his decision has surprised many of his friends and business associates, it is also one that is not unexpected for those who know Syed Mohamed.

And he is fond of telling his listeners that anything one does must “at least be comparable to the best, if not the best.”

“I like challenges. I like to test my abilities,” he said of his new portfolio as chief operating officer. But what is even more exciting and meaningful for Syed Mohamed is the fact that he will be part of the team to restore the status of Madinah as a beacon of knowledge.

“Madinah is the second holiest city in Islam and the burial place for Prophet Muhammad,” he pointed out, adding that this was one of the three reasons why he decided to take up the job offer there.

K.E.C. Madinah, developed by Seera City Real Estate Development Company, is only five km east of Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid Al Nabawi) and five km south of Mohammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport.

Its focus is on knowledge-based industries like science, technology, biotechnology, medical services, Islamic studies and social sciences.

The project, on 4.8 million sq metres, will take at most 12 to 15 years to complete, he added.

With his 27 years of working experience in the property and banking sectors, Syed Mohamed is certainly upbeat on the booming Saudi economy.

The Arabs, he added, accepted global best practices in developing their country and they also had high regards for the achievements and capabilities of Malaysians.

“It is all about professionalism and meritocracy. When you see things that way, you will not have problems in establishing a good relationship and working together well with others,” he said.

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IIB is expected to benefit from Syed Mohamed’s West Asian connections, particularly the Saudis. The Iskandar ‘greenfield’ developments are expected to go into high gear after this appointment.