KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has appointed Jamelah Jamaluddin as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of its Malaysian unit, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad (KFHMB).

KFH said the appointment of Jamelah, who has been in the financial industry for 25 years, took effect on Tuesday, Feb 9.

"Jamelah will play a pivotal role as the new CEO of the Bank, in delivering the strategy for the Bank’s operations in the country and in the Asia-Pacific region," it said.

It said Jamelah rejoins KFHMB  from RHB Islamic Bank Bhd, where she served as managing director since 2007. She was in the pioneer team of KFHMB in 2005 as the deputy CEO and she also headed the corporate & investment banking division (CIB).

She was responsible for the daily operations of the division which included treasury, private equity, real estate, international business and the research unit. She was in charge of driving business opportunities within the Asian region for KFHMB and her main responsibilities included sourcing investors, to subscribe to Islamic capital market instruments for KFHMB’s investments around the world.

Jamelah was also responsible for looking after the provision of financial advisory and structuring services to clients.  

Prior to her new appointment, as the former managing director of RHB Islamic Bank, she led the bank's operations and the group's overall strategy related to the group's Islamic business.

She set up the Islamic investment banking division and set up 12 RHB Islamic branches throughout Malaysia.  Her other key achievements include  the establishment of the Az-Zahra unit - the only Islamic retail banking branch dedicated to women - and introduced Islamic debit cards and credit cards for RHB Islamic Bank.

KFHMB chairman Shaheen Alghanem said Jamelah’s extensive in-depth  knowledge and exposure in both Islamic and conventional banking, coupled with her strong business relationships and her demonstrated ability to understand business dynamics, have made her the best person for the position of KFHMB CEO.

"Her proven track record and experience in successfully establishing innovative financial solutions,  will  not only accelerate, but will grow the Bank’s business further,  and propel KFHMB to the next level, to be the leading and preferred regional Islamic bank,” he said.