Mahtab Ahmed steps down as Robi MD after 5 years

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed has stepped down from his role as managing director and CEO of Bangladesh’s second-largest telecoms operator Robi after five years.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 5 August 2021, 07:03 AM
Updated : 5 August 2021, 07:33 AM

The top executive, whose term officially comes to an end on Oct 31, has decided not to renew his contract and will go on leave with immediate effect, the company said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

M Riyaaz Rasheed, the company’s chief financial officer, will take over as acting CEO in addition to his current duties.

“On behalf of the Robi Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mahtab for establishing Robi firmly as the leading digital service provider of the country,” said Thayaparan Sangarapillai, chairman of the board.

Mahtab Ahmed was Robi’s first Bangladeshi CEO. During his tenure, Robi expanded into 4G and also made the biggest IPO in a decade.

But the recent performance by Robi, a unit of Malaysia’s Axiata, has been below expectations.

In the second quarter of the year, Robi Axiata’s net profit declined 20% year-on-year to Tk 466.38 million.

During a news briefing on the quarterly report, Mahtab Ahmed said that overall competitive distortions are pushing the market to the “brink of failure, and the fragile state of the competitive landscape is making it difficult to achieve the condition of economic efficiency”.

Ahmed noted that distorted price mechanisms and distribution systems are undermining consumers’ interest and weakening the telecom industry. He stressed that for a market to operate efficiently, no single entity should be allowed to dictate the price and output decisions.