KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) is losing two key people from its senior management team with the exit of chief operating officer Gordon Andrew Stewart and chief aviation and strategy officer Megat Ardian Wira Mohd Aminuddin.
Scoop has learnt that the two men are leaving for personal reasons and for another offer, respectively.
Stewart is heading back to be with his family in the UK, while Megat is taking on a new role as CEO of Air Borneo — Sarawak’s new state-owned airline that is due to be launched in the new year.
When contacted, Stewart said the decision was a tough one to make, and his last day with the company will be December 16.
“The decision (to leave) was made some time ago and was prompted by personal reasons.
“I miss my family,” he said, explaining that plans to relocate did not pan out.
Stewart was appointed to MAHB on October 1, 2023 and led aggressive customer-focused initiatives to make Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) more user-friendly.
It is believed that his and Megat Ardian’s roles will be shared by three senior aviation executives who were appointed as part of a restructuring in May this year: Adam Wilson, Ben Nolan and Richard Townsend.
Under the new realignment, Bryan John Thompson was made chief aviation officer (CAO) — a newly created role, where he reports directly to MAHB managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani.
Stewart, Megat and two other senior executives — COO of Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd (MASB) Kamaruzzaman Razali and senior general manager of commercial services Hani Ezra Hussin — were reassigned to report directly to Thompson from Mohd Izani.
MAHB has been under immense pressure to deliver world-class services and infrastructure, which it prides itself on — following numerous issues, among them the nagging new aerotrain services that keep stalling, the latest incident on October 28, which saw passengers having to walk on the tracks, had pushed the government’s patience to the brink with Transport Minister Anthony Loke warning of punitive action.
Other incidents include IT outages and even a blackout at Terminal 2 on August 28.
Despite these issues, a RM30 million facility upgrade, including security enhancements, has seen shorter waiting periods and connecting times as well as increased passenger movements, not directly attributed to the Asean Summit and related events, which Malaysia hosted this year as Chair.
Passenger arrivals for Q3 are at 40.6 million (a 12.2% increase), which means MAHB is well on its way to achieving its 62 million passenger movements by the end of the year.
MAHB was taken private in February by a consortium led by Khazanah Nasional Bhd for RM12.3 billion (RM11 per share).
The national sovereign wealth fund owns 40% of MAHB, while the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) holds 30%.
The remaining 30% is owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which is headquartered in New York. — October 30, 2025