Datuk Yasmin Mahmood has sent the board of directors of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) a notification that she will be relinquishing her position as chief executive officer.



“It is with a heavy heart that I am tendering my resignation as CEO of MDEC to pursue a role with a tech venture in Jakarta,” said Yasmin.



“It has been an absolute honour to have served in this position for the last four years and three months. I have put my heart and soul into the role to bring MDEC to a higher level of effectiveness and relevance, not only with the initiatives and strategies we’ve implemented but also with the cultural transformation of the people in MDEC,” she added.



After spearheading the strategy and planning for 2019, Yasmin will relinquish her position as CEO, and all other positions within MDEC effective Jan 15, 2019. She joined MDEC as CEO on Sept 15, 2014.



A management committee will be activated as part of the transition plan to oversee the agency’s operations during the process of appointing a new CEO.



“I wish to express my appreciation to the board for its guidance and support throughout my tenure. It has been a great honour serving the nation. I wish everyone at MDEC the very best on its continued journey,” she said.



Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said, “We thank Yasmin for her stewardship in leading MDEC and all her contributions to the digital economy ecosystem. Her passion, commitment and energy in seeing things through to the very end has benefited Malaysia throughout the years.”



Acting MDEC chairman Datuk Mathialakan Chelliah said: “Yasmin has been a very strong and engaged visionary leader at MDEC. Her ability to drive outcome-focused initiatives at a national scale is unparalleled. We are extremely grateful for her tireless efforts in serving the nation the last few years and are indeed saddened that she will be leaving MDEC.”



Under Yasmin’s leadership, MDEC had embarked on projects such as the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) to encourage the Malaysian SMEs (small to medium enterprises) to go digital, brought in foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Malaysia, nurtured the Malaysian technology ecosystem, and kicked off MyDigitalMaker, eRezeki and eUsahawan.



Originally from Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Yasmin is the eldest child of two teachers. She graduated with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics. Before taking on the role at MDEC, she was previously a managing director at Microsoft Malaysia.