FWD Group Holdings Limited, a pan-Asian life and health insurance company with over 12 million customers across 10 markets, has revealed new leadership appointments in Malaysia.
Aman Chowla has been named chief executive officer of FWD Takaful, while Mak See Sen will take on the role of CEO for FWD Insurance Berhad. Both positions will be effective from Nov. 18.
FWD initially entered the Malaysian market in 2019 by acquiring a 49% stake in FWD Takaful, later increasing its ownership to 70% earlier this year. The group has since expanded its operations in the country.
Chowla, who has over 20 years of experience in both life and general insurance, joined FWD in 2023 as CEO of FWD Insurance Berhad.
FWD Group managing director Binayak Dutta said Chowla’s leadership will be pivotal to advancing the company’s objectives in Malaysia’s takaful sector.
“As a customer-led company, we aim to meet the protection needs of Malaysians with Shariah-compliant products and drive the next phase of growth, scale, and innovation in our business,” he said.
“I look forward to leading our efforts in changing the way people feel about takaful in Malaysia while further scaling our business and contributions to the community,” Chowla said.
Chowla’s appointment follows the upcoming retirement of Salim Majid Zain, who has served as CEO of FWD Takaful since 2019.
“Salim has been instrumental in building our takaful business since our journey in Malaysia started five years ago, and we wish him a happy and healthy retirement,” Dutta said.
In a separate statement, Dutta highlighted the significance of Mak See Sen’s appointment, emphasising his experience in leading and developing insurance businesses across Asia.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Mak to FWD. His experience in leading and developing strategies to build businesses that are innovative and customer-led will be invaluable as we scale up our nascent Malaysian life insurance business,” he said.
See Sen brings 24 years of experience in senior roles at major insurers such as Manulife and Prudential, having worked in markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and China’s Greater Bay Area.
See Sen said he looks forward to building on the strong foundation laid by Chowla and the team to offer accessible, easy-to-understand insurance solutions to more Malaysians.
“Aman and the FWD Insurance team have built incredible momentum in their first year,” he said.
FWD recently brought its insurance and takaful entities under one roof in a new Kuala Lumpur facility and has launched initiatives to improve financial literacy in Malaysia. One such effort is the JA SparktheDream program, which FWD rolled out in 2024, extending its financial education initiative to Malaysia from other parts of Asia.
