RHB Appoints Vashta Mahendran As New Group Chief Operations Officer

Overview

RHB Banking Group has announced the appointment of Vashta Mahendran as its new Group Chief Operations Officer, effective 1 July 2025. She takes over the role from David Chong, who will be stepping down on 30 June 2025 to pursue new opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead group-wide transformation initiatives and drive operational transformation to deliver the PROGRESS27 strategy, and achieve the Group's objectives of being best in service, highly profitable, and a responsible and purposeful organisation.
• Drive operational excellence and digital transformation across the Group.

Qualifications

• Over 30 years of experience in the financial sector with deep institutional knowledge, including leadership roles in Group Treasury (joined 2015 as Lead for Strategic Business Management), Group Wholesale Banking (expanded in 2021), and group-wide transformation initiatives (led in 2022).
• Bachelor of Arts in Economics, majoring in Accounting and Finance, from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
• Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA).
• Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
• Early career at Arthur Andersen & Co., followed by roles in several major financial institutions.