Crown Cement CEO Masud Khan made BSEC chairman
Three new commissioners have also been appointed to the stock market regulator.
Masud Khan, group chief executive officer of Crown Cement PLC and chairman of Unilever Consumer Care Limited, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
Three more individuals have also been appointed as commissioners.
The appointments were made through separate notifications issued by the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance this afternoon (4 June), several hours after the BSEC chairman and four commissioners resigned.
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According to the notification, Masud will serve as the BSEC chairman for four years from the date of joining, under Section 5(2) of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993, subject to the condition that he shall sever all employment and professional relationships with other institutions and organisations.
His salary, allowances, and other benefits will be determined through an agreement with the government, it said, adding, "This order issued in the public interest shall take immediate effect."
With 45 years of experience in leading multinational and local companies, Masud previously served as the chief financial officer of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh for 18 years and spent 20 years with British American Tobacco in finance and related roles both in Bangladesh and abroad.
He is an independent director and chairman of the Audit Committee at Singer Bangladesh Limited and Community Bank Bangladesh PLC, and also an independent director and chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee at British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh.
He has been a lecturer at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh for 45 years. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from St Xavier's College, University of Kolkata, and is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and Cost and Management Accountant, earning a silver medal in the all-India CA exam in 1977. He is also a Fellow of CMA (Australia and NZ).
Meanwhile, Advocate Nahid Mahtab, who previously served as a deputy attorney general, has been appointed as a commissioner of the BSEC.
The other two commissioners are Tanwir Habib Rahman, the finance director of Asa International, and Md Nafeez Al Tarik, the managing director of Dhaka Bank Securities Limited.
All three have been appointed for four-year terms from their respective dates of joining under the same provision and subject to the same conditions.
Resignations
Earlier in the day, Khondoker Rashed Maqsood resigned from the post of BSEC chairman.
Along with him, four commissioners - Md Saifuddin, Md Mohsin Chowdhury, Md Ali Akbar, and Farzana Lalarukh - also submitted their resignation letters to the Financial Institutions Division.
"We have all resigned due to personal reasons," Saifuddin told The Business Standard.
Their resignations came just two days after Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the BSEC will be reconstituted within the next two weeks, with a leadership team comprising non-political and experienced market professionals.
The minister also said that the process of appointing a new chairman and four commissioners was already underway.
Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, a former banker with 30 years of experience both in Bangladesh and abroad, was made the chairman of the stock market regulator on 18 August 2024.
In a message this morning, Maqsood said that after serving as chairman for the last 21 months, he had decided to resign from the position to focus on personal endeavours.
He said, "We had taken over the leadership role in the most turbulent times and immediately began a long overhaul of the legal framework and market discipline. During this short period, we have already gazetted 5 Rules (Margin, IPO, Mutual Fund, Debt Securities, Whistleblower). We have also published 3 draft Rules/Guidelines (Corporate Governance, Audit, Corporate Restructuring) in recent weeks for public opinion.
"We have drafted two laws (Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act & Capital Market Stabilization Fund Act) for FID to enact."
Maqsood added, "We have also made tremendous progress in investor awareness and education by adopting digital platforms, short video competitions by students and engaging at the grassroots levels of the administration.
"All the above measures had been achieved by a rejuvenated and revitalised BSEC team who are ready and eager to do more."
"In conclusion, we are proud to leave a lasting impact on the capital markets. We take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues, stakeholders and the government for their dedicated support and commitment," he said.
Earlier in the morning, the BSEC postponed its Eid Reunion 2026 programme, which was scheduled to bring together market stakeholders and journalists at 11am today.
Officials said the event was postponed following a directive from the commission, with the securities regulator stating in a notice sent to invited guests, "Due to unavoidable circumstances, the BSEC Eid Reunion 2026 scheduled for today has been postponed. We regret the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding and cooperation."
The postponement came a day after the chairman and commissioners reportedly left the BSEC headquarters with their personal belongings following a meeting yesterday (3 June).
According to BSEC officials, the five officials had not returned to the office as of this morning.
