PETALING JAYA: Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP) has appointed Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha as deputy managing director, as part of a succession plan to ensure a smooth transition in leadership once its incumbent managing director Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh retires in June 2019.
The company said in a statement today that the appointment is part of the company’s plan to ensure seamless succession at its top leadership subject to performance appraisal and final approval of the board of directors.
Mohamad Helmy, 51, who is currently SDP’s COO of upstream will continue to be responsible over the plantation upstream business after his appointment to his new role comes into effect on Jan 1, 2019.
“Mohamad Helmy is a key member of our management team and has all the relevant experience and expertise to manage SDP’s vast integrated business. He has demonstrated strong leadership and commitment to performance, both of which are important qualities for senior management,” said Mohd Bakke who is also SDP’s executive deputy chairman.
Mohamad Helmy has more than 18 years of experience in the plantation industry, being appointed as COO of the division in 2017.
He is a Chartered Accountant and began his career as an auditor with Wellers, Accountants, Oxford, UK and has also worked in the oil and gas sector via his stint with the Shell Group in Malaysia.
In 1997, he joined Guthrie Property Holdings Sdn Bhd as the finance and administration manager where he rose up the ranks quickly and moved into the plantation sector.
Mohamad Helmy was also a key member of the Guthrie team that acquired Minamas Plantation in Indonesia in 2001 and later restructured it.
In 2007, after the merger that established the enlarged Sime Darby Group, Mohamad Helmy was appointed as the head of upstream Malaysia in Sime Darby Plantations Sdn Bhd. He also headed the company’s overseas expansion into Africa.
After a brief stint outside the company, Mohamad Helmy returned to SDP in 2016 as head of plantation services and special project, before being appointed to his current role.
