Nagad Leadership Nomination: Mutasim Billah Proposed as CEO, Board Restructuring Recommended
The Bangladesh Postal Department has recommended Mutasim Billah, currently a director at Bangladesh Bank, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of digital financial service provider Nagad. The recommendation also includes a proposal to restructure Nagad’s board of directors. A notification regarding the matter was issued by the Posts and Telecommunications Division under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. The circular, signed by Deputy Secretary (Additional Responsibility) Monira Akter, has been sent to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank and other relevant authorities.
According to sources, the move aims to ensure good governance and keep Nagad’s operations running smoothly. The proposal was formulated considering opinions from the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.
The proposed new board would be chaired by Professor Niaz Asadullah of the Department of Development Economics at Monash University in Malaysia. He also serves as an Honorary Professorial Fellow at North South University.
The gazette outlining the board restructuring stated that the board will include, by virtue of their positions, the Director General of the Postal Department, the Secretaries of the Finance Division and the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance. Additionally, it will include directors from Bangladesh Bank’s Payment Systems Department and the Banking Regulation and Policy Department.
From the private sector, the proposed board members include Khandakar Sabbir Mohammad Kabir, Director of American International University; Barrister Tanim Hossain, lawyer at the Bangladesh Supreme Court; Saleh Uddin, Executive Editor of The Daily Ittefaq; and H.M. Barru Sani, member of the Bangladesh Computer Samity.
According to insiders, a decision was made on Thursday to restructure the board under the chairmanship of Professor Niaz Asadullah. However, following online media coverage, an earlier directive signed by Rafeeza Akter Kanta, Director of Bangladesh Bank’s Payment Systems Department on 23 June, resurfaced. That directive proposed a different 7-member board headed by former AB Bank Managing Director Kaiser Ahmed Chowdhury, indicating an attempt to enforce the previous directive.
As per that instruction, the remaining board members would include Professor Niaz Asadullah, PRI Research Director Bazlul Haque Khondker (a member of the previous board), former Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Md. Anwar Hossain, Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Tanim Hossain Shawon, the Director General of the Postal Department, and the Joint Secretary of the Debt Management Wing of the Finance Division, serving as ex-officio members.
