Robi Axiata has appointed Rajeev Sethi as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, the company said in a statement on Monday. He will be replacing M. Riyaaz Rasheed, who has been serving as Robi’s Acting Chief Executive Officer since August, 2021. Rasheed will now focus on his role as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. The statement said the Board of Directors of Robi Axiata Limited made the decision considering his notable success in turning around Myanmar’s leading mobile operator, Ooredoo, as its CEO. Prior to that he has successfully served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Airtel for Africa. Read:Robi signs tower-sharing deal with Teletalk, Summit He is also no stranger to Bangladesh as he had earlier served as the Chief Executive Officer of Telenor’s subsidiary, Grameenphone Limited. Joint Acting Group CEOs of Axiata Group Berhad, Dr Hans Wijayasuriya and Vivek Sood welcomed him as the new boss of the company in a challenging time in Bangladesh where telecommucation sector is going trough a number of challenges to move forward. “With market leadership in 4G and digital innovation, Robi is now well poised for its next wave of growth. At this point in Robi’s journey, we are very happy to have a widely regarded prolific growth driver like Rajeev Sethi taking on the leadership role of Robi,” they said in the statement.   Read: Tap offers bonus data, cashback on Robi, Airtel internet packages They said Rajeev’s leadership is crucial at a time when Robi is preparing to celebrate its 25th year of operation. “Rajeev’s leadership will certainly generate fresh momentum for Robi’s competitive strides in the Bangladesh market,” it said. The statement said Rajeev is considered to be an accomplished executive possessing a wealth of domestic and international experience of leading organisations in both startup and established stage with a strong track record of excelling in dynamic and demanding environment. Read Robi launches sales academy On assuming the role of Robi’s CEO, Rajeev said: “I am very excited to have the privilege of working with the leading digital company of Bangladesh, Robi Axiata Limited. Over the years, it has truly evolved into a digital telco that thrives on innovation.” “The best part is that the culture of innovation is deeply entrenched in Robi which bodes well for future growth. I am very confident that with the support of the team Robi, we can make significant gain in market share in the coming days,” he added. Robi Axiata's new CEO Rajeev Sethi has significant ICT industry experience, including executive engagements in companies such as Vodafone, HP, Hutchison Telecom and Asian Paints. Sethi received an MBA in Marketing, Finance and Operations from the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow. Read World HRD Congress: Robi scores Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards 2022

New Biman Bangladesh Airlines chief has set a target of increasing the national flag carrier's annual turnover to $1 billion from $700 million. Biman Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Md Zahid Hossain wants to make the airline profitable with business expansion, new strategies, and satisfactory passenger services. Zahid said this at his first press briefing as Biman chief in Dhaka Thursday. About Biman's poor customer service, the MD said: "We will do what it takes to establish Biman as a commercial enterprise, and offer satisfactory passenger services." Regarding the losses that Biman incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, Zahid said the national carrier is now in a better position as many airlines across the world had to shut down during that time. "Biman transported 22 lakh passengers last year. We hope to carry 30 lakh passengers this year. Around 80 lakh Bangladeshis now live abroad; they want to travel through Biman. We want to serve them," he added. Read: Bangladesh must ensure strategic balance amid new tensions: BIPSS president About Biman's Toronto flights, the MD said the carrier will calculate the profits and losses once the travel season is over. "We've found access to North America via Toronto. If this flight becomes successful, we'll be able to enter the US market." Regarding corruption allegations in Biman's pilot recruitment, Zahid said the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating the claims of irregularities and they will extend their full support to the anti-corruption watchdog. Before joining as the MD and CEO of Biman on July 13, Additional Secretary Zahid served as the director (administration and human resources) of the national flag carrier.

Mobile financial services (MFS) provider upay announced the appointment of Rezaul Hossain as its managing director and chief executive officer Sunday. Rezaul worked for local and multinational companies including, Grameenphone, Citycell, Airtel and bKash. Before joining upay, he was involved with several enterprises, including MFS provider Nagad. Also, Rezaul led the commercial division of bKash from 2011 to 2017 as the chief commercial officer. Read: No data charge for e-transactions on Upay app for Banglalink customers Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, chairman of the board of directors of UCB Fintech Company, said: "Rezaul Hossain is a highly accomplished business leader and brings a wealth of skills and experience that will take us to our strategic goal of becoming one of the leading mobile financial service companies in Bangladesh." "His exceptional telecommunications and MFS background along with a record of building and scaling up business from scratch to success will surely create a strong foothold for upay in the country's digital finance landscape." Rezaul said: "Despite being a new financial service brand, I believe, upay has a huge potential to disrupt the market. As I have a long vision for the advancement of the country's financial technology sector, I would like to dedicate my experience, expertise and industry knowledge to help upay grow and reach its full potential through bringing delightful experiences to our customers." UCB Fintech Company, a subsidiary of United Commercial Bank, has been offering mobile financial services under the brand name upay. Upay launched its commercial operation in March 2021 after securing its MFS licence from the Bangladesh Bank in December 2020.