Dato' Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa : Managing Director/ Group Chief Executive Officer

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Dato’ Zamzamzairani, 49, holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Engineering from Plymouth Polytechnic, United Kingdom and has attended the Kellog School of Management’s programme in Corporate Finance, Strategies for Creating Shareholder Value.

He started his career in TM in 1984 as a satellite planning and development engineer. He spent 13 years with TM, of which 7 years were in satellite related business including a 15 month attachment with Intelsat in Washington DC.

He was the General Manager of Global Business, and the Chief Executive Officer of ACASIA Communications, a joint venture between ASEAN major telecommunications carrier spearheaded by TM, before he left TM in 1997 to join Maxis Communication Berhad as the General Manager of International Business & VSAT Marketing and Acting Head of Corporate Strategy and Business Development.

He has vast experience in the telecommunications industry, having held senior positions in several multinationals such as Global One and Lucent Technologies (Malaysia), where he led the companies as the CEO.

He joined TM as the Senior Vice President, Group Strategy and Technology in 2005. Before assuming his current role as Managing Director/Group CEO, Dato’ Zamzamzairani was the CEO of Malaysia Business.

He also sits on the boards of several TM Group subsidiaries, including as Chairman of VADS Berhad and Deputy Chairman of GITN Sdn Berhad

Director, Engineering Division : Ir. Haji Tajul Zahari Bin Abu Bakar

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Tajul Zahari b Abu Bakar was appointed the Director - Engineering of PROTON on
November 2008. He has been with Proton since 1985 holding various posts in the
company.

Tajul Zahari graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from the
University of Queensland, Australia and also an MBA from the International Islamic
University, Malaysia. He is a Member of the Institute of Engineer Malaysia (IEM) and
also a Professional Engineer (P.E.) registered with the Board of Engineers (BEM)
Malaysia. He also sits in various external committees including the Work Group
,Industrial Biotechnology, BioTech Corporation Malaysia.

Tajul Zahari lent his expertise to PROTON through various postings including in the areas of Research and Development (R&D) , Product Development as well as Project Management

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The Story : Dato' Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir

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WHEN Proton Holdings Bhd's supremo Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff made a sudden departure from the company in July 2005, he left behind a much-publicised vacant position. In less than a month, numerous names had been proposed.

Only some 40 names were shortlisted, and in the end, only one stood out - that of Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir, the former executive director of second national car manufacturer, Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd. He was hand-picked to revive Proton's fledgling fortunes in Malaysia and its vital export markets.

Syed Zainal is no new face to the automotive world. He cut an impressive figure at Perodua, forging strong links with Toyota and Daihatsu. His departure from Perodua was a huge loss for the manufacturer, says a motoring journalist.

Perhaps, it is now national service for Syed Zainal as Proton's new managing director and chief executive officer. It would be interesting to see how he can transform the national car manufacturer in the coming years. What Proton needs now is a new `mental framework'. Can he bring the kaizen culture he learned from Perodua's foreign partners Toyota and Daihatsu to Proton?

`Proton is a national asset. The most important element at the company is its existing workforce. I believe Proton has big potential to grow further,' Syed Zainal told the Press upon his appointment to the position.

With him lies the hope of the nation's automotive industry in the new millennium. Can Syed Zainal strengthen the national automaker and forge new deals with Germany's largest automotive company Volkswagen AG?

Industry observers have pointed out that Proton is short of new ideas, including coming up with new models to replace its existing fleet comprising the Iswara, Wira and Perdana.

With his position in Proton comes the responsibility of the nation's economic goals and the livelihood of more than 100,000 people, both directly and indirectly.

Prior to Proton and Perodua, Kelantan-born Syed Zainal was a project engineer at Petronas Gas Sdn Bhd, and he climbed the ranks as senior manager, general manager and finally CEO at conglomerate Hicom Holdings Bhd.

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