Proton Deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah Steps Down, Ainol Azmil Named Interim Successor

Roslan Abdullah has stepped down as Deputy CEO of national automaker Proton. He was appointed the role back in Jan 2022.

Here’s a very surprising announcement. In a press release issued circa 8PM this evening, national automaker Proton revealed that Roslan Abdullah has stepped down as Deputy CEO after an eventful five-year stint with the national automaker.

The automaker didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind his exit, though it is in this writer’s opinion that this won’t be the last that we’ll see the 56-year-old Besut-born veteran automotive executive – more so given his profile, which we’ll detail in a bit.

With Roslan's exit, Proton has named Ainol Azmil as interim successor effective June 10 onwards. He will also continue to oversee Corporate Strategy and Group Technical Procurement.

In the meantime, Proton has named Ainol Azmil as Roslan’s interim successor – this appointment is temporary. Ainol will assume the responsibilities of Deputy CEO and assist CEO Dr Li Chunrong in leading the national automaker.

Said responsibilities comes on top of his existing portfolios overseeing both Corporate Strategy and Group Technical Procurement. Additionally, Proton states Ainol will helm the interim Deputy CEO position mentioned effective June 10 onwards.

“Proton welcomes Ainol Azmil to the role of covering Deputy CEO. We are confident in his ability to take on this temporary appointment. At the same time, Proton would like to convey utmost gratitude to Roslan Abdullah for his contribution to the company and we wish him well in his future undertakings,” reads a prepared statement by CEO Dr Li Chunrong.

Roslan sat in and spoke as a guest in an episode of Bahasa language auto industry podcast called Tekan Habis (hosted by this writer) recently.

One of the most recent efforts Roslan (left) oversaw as Deputy CEO was the partnership between Proton and leading tyremaker Continental, which you can read up on by clicking here.

A finance & accountancy degree holder from the University of Brighton, UK, Roslan spent over three decades navigating the local automotive industry. Highlights include management roles at national motorcycle marque Modenas and Isuzu Hicom Malaysia.

Notably, Roslan served as both President and COO of Honda Malaysia from Dec 2012 to June 2019. During which, Roslan was widely touted as a silent yet key driver behind the H-marque’s success towards becoming the leading non-national passenger car brand.

After which, Roslan was appointed General Manager at DRB-Hicom Bhd – Proton’s parent firm – in June 2019. He then joined Proton firstly as CEO of its Proton Edar Sdn Bhd (PESB) sales arm and as the automaker’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, in June 2022.

Roslan (right) with Proton CEO Dr Li Chunrong (left) at the East Malaysia launch of the 2025 Proton X70 Facelift in 2024.

Roslan then became Deputy CEO in Jan 2022, reporting directly to CEO Dr Li. Throughout his time, Roslan helped steer Proton through the Covid-19 pandemic before overseeing the launch of various new Geely-based models – X50, X90, S70 and X70 facelift.

Roslan also oversaw the formation of the national automaker’s PRO-NET (Proton New Energy Technology) arm that distributes both the smart Automobile and Proton e.MAS electric vehicle (EV) brands, charting great sales success with the latter’s e.MAS 7.

We're certain this won't be the last we'll see Roslan. The veteran auto industry exec's new role and position is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Critically, Roslan also oversaw internal efforts by Proton towards improving its production quality at its main Tanjong Malim plant, as well as initial efforts towards establishing Tanjong Malim’s ambitious Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV) development plan.

With all this mind, we’re certain you’ll agree with what we said prior – this won’t be the last we’ll see Roslan. We’ll have more once his new position and role is officially announced.