Mohammad Fairuz Mohd Radi

Executive Director of Group Community Banking, AFFIN BANK

“Leadership in the fast-paced banking industry necessitates a diverse set of skills and expertise”

Mohammad Fairuz Mohd Radi, the newly appointed Executive Director of Group Community Banking at AFFIN BANK, represents this diversity with his extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of various sectors, namely banking, real estate, and consulting.

Fairuz’s banking career started in 2010 as the Managing Director of Strategy and Transformation for Global Wholesale Banking, Maybank Group, and subsequent senior management roles within the group. He later ventured into property development with a dual role as the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Property Investment of Sime Darby Property before returning to banking as the Chief Strategy Officer and Director of Transaction Banking for Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad.

Among his notable achievements is the successful establishment of Maybank’s wholesale banking business across 17 countries, developing a cohesive strategy that integrated corporate banking, investment banking, treasury, global markets, transaction banking, and asset management. Later, at Sime Darby Property, he orchestrated the opening of KL East Mall during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic, started operations with 70% occupancy and after he left, continued to achieve a remarkable 95% occupancy rate by the end of 2023. These accomplishments moulded his leadership approach, emphasising the importance of strategic planning and speed of execution in organisational transformation.

Fairuz’s leadership values—Integrity, Humility, and Competency—have shaped his vision for AFFIN Community Banking. Aside from sustaining existing businesses, he will focus on establishing new strategic business units to generate additional revenue streams. AFFIN Community Banking aims to enhance its branding, business presence, and customer value proposition through transformation initiatives including a stronger sales culture, cross-selling and up-selling retail banking solutions, and driving liquidity through the growth of Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) and deposits. 

“The goal is to enhance the banking experience, making it joyful for the community by simplifying systems and processes for all generations, including digitalising and enhancing the user experience of customer-facing platforms like retail internet banking, mobile banking, and digital customer onboarding and identity verification”

Community engagement is a priority for Fairuz. He plans to establish impactful AFFIN branding throughout the community by establishing a pervasive presence through marketing and events at strategic locations to capture new customers and raise awareness of the bank’s offerings.

“I foresee the convergence of the banking, real estate, and telecommunications industries, which ultimately drives the opportunity for stronger collaboration and partnerships between these three industries to ensure a more integrated approach to serving individual and high-net-worth customers”

Reflecting his time at Bank Muamalat where he was an active representative member of the Global Alliance of Banking Values (GABV), he highlights the importance of global alliances in sharing best practices and piloting key initiatives, especially in ESG and value-based banking. At the same time, as Co-Chairman of the Sustainability Committee for the Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), he contributed to establishing new standards and guidelines for sustainable practices. “At AFFIN, I see us establishing more new green solutions aligning with emerging standards and guidelines for sustainable practices, be it financing or investment products that can be offered to our existing and new bank customers,” he added.

Fairuz attributes his success in his banking career to the structured approach and an analytical and problem-solving mindset ingrained during his engineering education; he holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Technologies for Broadband Communication from University College London, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, United States of America. His advice to aspiring leaders in the banking industry is to embrace continuous learning, covering different areas within the banking value chain, and develop a personal leadership style.