SD Guthrie Group Managing Director, Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha Steps Down from Current Role

Petaling Jaya, 5 November 2025 – SD Guthrie Berhad’s Group Managing Director, Datuk Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha is stepping down from his current role, effective 31 December 2025. From 1 January 2026, he will serve the Group as Advisor to the Board of Directors until his planned retirement on 30 June 2026.

Mohamad Helmy will be succeeded by Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad, current Deputy Group Managing Director of Guthrie, who will take over as Group Managing Director on 1 January 2026.

“We want to thank Mohamad Helmy for his sterling service as Group Managing Director of Guthrie over the last six-and-a-half years. He led the Group through some challenging times but is leaving on a high note with both operational and financial performance moving in the right trajectory,” said Guthrie Chairman Tan Sri Dr Nik Norzrul Thani Nik Hassan Thani. He also noted that Guthrie has strong succession plans in place for all its senior management, a discipline which is very much in evidence during this seamless and planned transition between the incoming and outgoing Group Managing Directors.

Mohamad Helmy was appointed Group Managing Director on 1 July 2019, of the then Sime Darby Plantation Berhad, taking over from Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh. In the first half of his tenure, Guthrie faced several challenges, from 2019’s plummeting CPO prices, to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the ban on Guthrie’s products in the United States and a debilitating worker shortage due to border closures. Against the backdrop of very low CPO prices in 2019, together with Mohd Haris, he crafted the strategy to increase contributions from the Group’s Downstream segment, to reduce dependence on commodity prices.

Having steered Guthrie through these prolonged crises, in 2024, Mohamad Helmy led the management team in the Group’s rebranding exercise, and its realignment and diversification initiatives, with the establishment of two new business verticals – Renewable Energy and Industrial Development.

Mohamad Helmy will be celebrated for his tenacity and vision, his commitments to driving performance in Guthrie, and innovation in the plantation industry. In 2020, as the many challenges percolated, Mohamad Helmy told his colleagues to “never waste a good crisis”, and established the “Infinity Taskforce”, the initiative to modernise, mechanise and automate plantation operations where possible. As a result of these efforts, today Guthrie’s land to man ratio (a measure of efficiency) has improved significantly to 13.5 ha:1 from 10.5 ha:1 pre-covid, a reduction of 6,000 workers. The “Infinity Taskforce” continues to meet regularly

Mohd Haris joined Sime Darby Berhad in 2014, as the Head of Global Trading & Marketing. Following the demerger of the Sime Darby Group in November 2017, Mohd Haris was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the then Sime Darby Plantation Berhad’s Downstream division.

He played a pivotal role in the rebranding of the Downstream division to Sime Darby Oils (SDO) in 2019. He was appointed SDO’s first Managing Director in May of that year and oversaw its robust growth, almost doubling profits over three years.

In January 2024, Mohd Haris was promoted to Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO), taking on a wider role that included Guthrie’s vast Upstream operations. He took a hands-on approach and visited all Upstream regions in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, working closely with estate and mill operations. On 1 September 2025, Mohd Haris was appointed Deputy Group Managing Director, in preparation for the handover from Mohamad Helmy.

Mohd Haris has led numerous operational excellence, governance, digitalisation, health & safety, as well as talent development initiatives.

He began his career in 1995 with Cargill in Malaysia, trading palm oil, and later leading copra sourcing in the Philippines and coconut oil marketing in Europe. In 2001, he joined Nestlé in Malaysia, London, and Singapore, where he established the Commodity Procurement Centre for Asia, Oceania, and Africa as General Manager & Head of Global Oils and Fats. In 2010, Mohd Haris joined Unilever to set up its global commodity risk management unit for oils and fats, managing trading teams in the US, Switzerland, and Singapore.

Mohd Haris continues to serve as the Chairman of the board of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) and the Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM). He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).

“We are confident that Mohd Haris will take the Group to new heights as he leads the management team to implement the Board-approved enterprise strategy. We are also grateful that Mohamad Helmy is continuing to serve as Advisor to the Board for the first six months of 2026, lending his years of experience for Guthrie.

On behalf of the Board and the Guthrie family, I wish Mohamad Helmy the very best for the future and thank him for his untiring service and dedication to the Group. And I congratulate Mohd Haris on his appointment as our new Group Managing Director,” Nik Norzrul added.  

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