Under her leadership, MDEC embarked and participated in nation-building projects such as the Digital Free Trade Zone and brought in FDIs into Malaysia

Yasmin Mahmood has stepped down as the CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) after helming the organisation for more than four years. The resignation will be effective 15 January 2019.

In a statement posted on the MDEC site, Mahmood said she would pursue a role with a tech venture in Jakarta.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am tendering my resignation as CEO of MDEC to pursue a role with a tech venture in Jakarta,” said Yasmin. “It has been an absolute honour to have served in this position for the last 4 years and 3 months. I have put my heart and soul into the role to bring MDEC to a higher level of effectiveness and relevance, not only with the initiatives and strategies we’ve implemented but also with the cultural transformation of the people in MDEC.”

Mahmood joined MDEC as its chief on 15 September 2014. Under her leadership, MDEC embarked and participated in nation-building projects such as the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) to encourage the small-medium enterprise (SME) community to embrace e-commerce, and brought in foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Malaysia.

Also Read: MaGIC CEO Ashran Ghazi is stepping down

While Mahmood at the helm, MDEC also nurtured the Malaysian technology ecosystem, including startups and local companies to world-class levels, empowered the future generation with the necessary skills and knowledge (via MyDigitalMaker), and encouraged inclusivity amongst the rakyat (citizens) through initiatives such as eRezeki and eUsahawan, so that they could earn additional income from the digital economy.

Speaking on her contribution to the agency and the ecosystem, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Gobind Singh Deo said: “We thank Datuk Yasmin for her stewardship in leading MDEC and all her contributions to the digital economy ecosystem. Her passion, commitment and energy in seeing things through to the very end has benefited Malaysia throughout the years.”

In the meantime, a management committee will be activated as part of the transition plan to oversee the agency’s operations during the process of appointing a new CEO.

MDEC (formerly known as Multimedia Development Corporation) is the lead agency in driving the digital economy in Malaysia under the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia. Since its inception 22 years ago, MDEC’s mission has been to develop the nation’s digital economy. Its implementation efforts are centred on driving investments, building local tech champions, catalysing digital innovation ecosystems and propagating digital inclusivity.

MDEC is also responsible to ensure that Malaysia plays an integral part in developing and nurturing talent to drive digital innovation around the world, while attracting participation from global ICT companies to invest and develop cutting edge digital and creative solutions in the country.

Recently, Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center’s (MaGIC) CEO Ashran Ghazi resigned to join Malaysia-based consumer intelligence firm Dattel as CEO.

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