Astro workplace diversity among key strategy moving forward - Rohana Rozhan

Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (Astro) Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan said the diversity policy practiced at Astro will support its medium and long-term business plans.

She said the diversity of talents and human capital are among Astro’s key strategies in moving forward.

“All of us at Astro believe diversity and complementarity is our true competitive strength and what sets us apart and what keeps us true to the pulse of the communities we aspire to serve. Media, like fast-moving consumer goods, mould itself around the behaviour and habits of consumers in the marketplace. For us, in Malaysia, that translates to 32 million people across six major ethnolinguistics groups.”

She also said Astro’s ability to evolve and adapt has been one of its key strengths.

"And the fact that our diverse and complementary workforce mirrors our marketplace and our customers’ aspirations,” she said in her keynote speech at the Nikkei Asian Review’s Asia’s New Wave – Beyond Diversity Forum in Kuala Lumpur here today.

In the Astro 2017 Annual Report, the company stressed on the importance of the diversity of its talents and employees to deliver values to its stakeholders in the ever-changing business landscape, expanding market and technological advancements.

Three of the nine members of Astro’s Board of Directors are women and they make 52 per cent of its total employees.

“We are furiously closing talent gaps and hiring new skills in a range of focus areas such as data science, analytics and cloud computing. We recognise these skills are scarce, so our scholarship and management associate programmes are also being pivoted towards science, technology, and innovation-oriented roles to nurture the next generation of our talent pool,” she said.