51 / 123
Process Excellence
& Governance
Planet & Society
Our Associates
Introduction
NURTURING
PEOPLE
Beyond Short-
Term Profits
NURTURING PEOPLE 41
Axiata Group Berhad | Sustainability & National Contribution Report 2016
National
Contribution Report
NURTURING
PEOPLE
Identifying the right talent
for the right position is an
important process. At Axiata,
we look beyond tenure and
competencies to ensure that
the right person is assigned
the right job. Talent Councils
have been formed at both
the Group and OpCo level to
assess candidates in the talent
pipeline for competencies
and culture-fit.
Identifying the Right Talent: Our Talent Councils
The Talent Councils are a part of our
commitment towards ensuring that the
right talent is placed in the right position.
Some of the key considerations deliberated
include the ‘culture-fit’ of the candidate as
well as the adaptability of the candidate
to be successful in a new ecosystem.
The process of identifying talent through
our Talent Councils is resource and time
consuming, but significantly reduces the
risk of putting the wrong person in a key
position.
Each of our six OpCos as well as our
infrastructure company edotco and
technology company Axiata Digital
Services have formed their own Talent
Councils. Largely made up of senior
management, the councils meet at least
We are committed to
investing in the local talent
capacity of our operating
countries, and aim to
preserve national diversity
when we expand our
footprint into new markets.
Building Local Leadership Capacities
Towards this end, we practise a ‘7-2-1’
philosophy (70% appointments of local
talent, 20% from elsewhere in the Group
and 10% external talent), in appointing
leaders for our OpCos. This is followed by
the establishment of local talent pipelines in
each of our operating countries in creating
a more sustainable pipeline of talent.
Axiata is pleased to report that we
appointed a Bangladesh national, Mahtab
Uddin Ahmed, as the new CEO of Robi
twice a year and are responsible for
combing through candidates within
their companies and discussing their
suitability for key positions. They
also identify candidates suitable for
reassignment to the Group level.
These candidates are then assessed
by the Group’s Talent Council, which
comprises the Group CEO as well as
the CEOs of the other eight companies.
The Group council conducts a similar
process and makes appointments
based on the findings of the council.
Axiata’s use of this mechanism
ensures that appointments receive the
general assent of the council and that
appointees are thoroughly vetted by
more than one individual.
Axiata in November 2016. Mahtab
was seconded to the Axiata Group
on a special assignment prior to his
appointment to Robi’s top position.
He was previously the Chief Operating
Officer (COO) of Robi from April 2014
to March 2016. Meanwhile, Supun
Weerasinghe, the previous CEO and
native Sri Lankan, has returned to
Dialog Axiata where he will succeed Dr
Hans Wijayasuria as the next CEO of
Dialog.