Petronas names Syed Zainal Abidin its marketing vice president

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has appointed Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir as its new vice president of marketing. The appointment is effective 1 July 2017, according to the New Straits Times.Mohamed Tahir who's also a Petronas scholar, started his career with the company in 1987 as a project engineer at Petronas Gas. In 1992, he was a senior executive of Petronas' corporate planning and international business development unit, before joining Hicom Holdings in 1995 to assume several senior positions.With around 30 years of experience in the corporate world, Mohamed Tahir was appointed as an independent non-executive director of RHB Bank on 6 October 2015. His other directorship in the public company includes RHB Islamic Bank Berhad.Mohamed Tahir is also known for his role as the group managing director of national car manufacturing company, Proton Holdings, a role he has held from 1 January 2006 until 2012. He also sat on the boards of Proton group's various subsidiaries before leaving the company in May 2012. His resignation came after much speculation following the takeover of Proton by DRB-Hicom and the departure of Proton's former chairman Datuk Seri Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, all in the same year.His stint with the automotive industries kicked off after joining Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua (Perodua) as its senior general manager in 1999. Following that, he was appointed as an executive director of Perodua Auto Corporation in 2002 before being promoted to Perodua's deputy managing director in October 2005. (Image credit: RHB Group)