Datin Anita Azrina Named First Female Chairman Of Petronas SIC

Petronas SIC revealed today that Datin Anita Azrina has been installed as its new Chairman effective today, and she historically stands as the circuit's first female Chairman too.

Petronas Sepang International Circuit (SIC) issued an official press release earlier today that confirmed the installation of Datin Anita Azrina as its new Chairman effective today. She succeeds Tan Sri Azman Yahya who steps down from the role after 15 years.

The announcement sees Datin Anita become the circuit’s first female Chairman, with the circuit management company also noting this to be a historic milestone in gender representation in Malaysian sports leadership as well.

Datin Anita (left) succeeds Tan Sri Azman Yahya (right), who steps down as the circuit's chairman after 15 years.

Datin Anita, who was also appointed as Chairperson of Malaysian Stadium Corporation (MSC) for the 2025-2027 term last month by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, is no stranger to the world of motorsports. Having amassed over three decades of experience in motorsports, as well as corporate strategy and stakeholder engagement, she brings a proven track record to her new role.

She is best known for her past tenure as Group Senior General Manager of Strategic Communications at national oil and gas giant Petronas. Through which, she led the Petronas Motorsports arm, overseeing its successful technical and commercial partnership in Formula 1 racing with Mercedes-Benz.

Datin Anita is perhaps best known for overseeing the successful partnership between Petronas and Mercedes-Benz in the world of Formula 1 racing.

“I look forward to working with the Board and SIC team to build on that strong foundation he established and to drive SIC’s continued growth as a global motorsports and innovation hub,” said Datin Anita via the press release noted.

Both Datin Anita and YB Hannah Yeoh also expressed their appreciation for Tan Sri Azman. The latter minister even acknowledged how he “transformed SIC into a world-class motorsports destination and his legacy will continue to inspire the next generation of leaders.”

“We are incredibly excited to work closely with Datin Anita Azrina, whose wealth of experience and passion will undoubtedly drive SIC to even greater heights,” expressed Azhan Shafriman, current CEO of Petronas SIC. It’s worth pointing out too that both Azhan and Datin Anita previously worked together at Petronas too.

Petronas SIC, established under MOF Inc and serving as an agency under the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), presently hosts several key international and regional events on top of several national and domestic championship.

For those who aren’t aware, Petronas SIC is a company established under the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc). It also serves an agency under Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS).

Besides local and domestic championship racing events, the circuit also currently hosts several key international and region motorsports events such as MotoGP, Super GT, Sepang 1000KM (S1K), Sepang 12 Hours, and more.