KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has appointed Noraihan Abdul Rahman as its chief executive officer (CEO) effective from Dec 1 this year.
Noraihan will replace Muhtar Suhaili who resigned on Oct 1.
Noraihan, who was MTC's first woman chief operations officer (COO), is now the council's first woman CEO in its 30-year history.
MTC said she would oversee the strategic direction and drive sustainable growth for the council.
Noraihan has wide experience and has held various key posts in MTC.
She holds a degree in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Arizona US, and began her career in MTC as an officer in the market promotion division before being appointed as its deputy director in 2010.
After serving for over two decades in division, she was promoted as the director of corporate communications division in 2020 and subsequently appointed as the COO on March 1, 2022.
MTC said Noraihan's promotion was celebrated as a step in the right direction for an industry that has few women in its top ranks.
MTC chairman Norrida Yusoff said Noraihan's new role was a point of pride for the council, especially in a competitive timber industry.
"I believe that, with her new, well-deserved role, Noraihan will continue to empower the staff and bring our company forward.
"She is a long-serving member of MTC and is knowledgeable about the timber industry.
"I am confident that Noraihan has all the qualities needed to drive MTC through its next phase of transition and growth," she said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, MTC said Muhtar would be the group COO of an integrated oil and gas solutions provider effective Dec 1, 2022.
Deemed as one of the most passionate and hardworking CEOs of MTC in recent years, Muhtar had introduced a slew of new programmes and strategies.
This included MTC's Must-Wins which further outlined the direction the council should take to achieve its business goals under the MTC Roadmap 2019-2023.
"Muhtar has been a force in developing and driving MTC forward, especially in a very challenging but also exciting past two years," said Norrida.