Learning to Lead

CGS International CEO Azizah Mohd Yatim on why great leadership starts with understanding your team

- Tania Jayatilaka

A woman with over 30 years’ experience at top financial institutions like HSBC, Citibank, and most notably, Maybank Investment Bank, where she served as head of new clients and business development, Azizah Mohd Yatim is just as much a learner as she is a leader.

“Moving from the banking industry to the stock market industry was a learning curve,” says the first-time CEO of the newly independent entity CGS International Securities Malaysia, following its demerger from CIMB Group Holdings in December 2023. “The capital markets are totally different because you’re dealing with public-listed companies, retailers, and generally a different target market than banks. My journey has been a mix of learning, desire and opportunity,” adds the former executive director of leading brokerage firm KAF Equities.

Taking over CGS International Securities Malaysia in February 2023, Azizah proudly shares that the company ranked as the top broker on Bursa Malaysia in April this year—the result of hard work and collaboration across various departments and levels, including sales and research, all the way up to the CEOs in the group. Asked if she resonates with the stereotypical notion of an aggressive, growth-at-any-cost CEO in the capital markets sector, Azizah responds with a laugh, saying that she started out with quite the opposite nature.