Abdul Sani Abdul Murad

As a longtime brand builder, Abdul Sani Abdul Murad has developed RHB Banking Group's marketing division into one of the most impactful in Malaysian banking, across purpose, creative ambition and business outcomes.

FY2025 was yet another commercially successful year for the bank. Net earnings rose 7.8% while loans, balances and return on equity, were all on the rise. According to Brand Finance, RHB's brand value jumped 16% to US$916 million, while the bank's NPS ranking moved from 16th to second in the Malaysian banking industry.

Under Sani’s direction, the bank's Hari Raya 2025 campaign‘Sulaman Kebersamaan' (Belonging)’ took festive storytelling to a purpose-driven direction. Over 9,000 baju raya were collected in under three hours and redistributed to underserved communities in 16 orphanages around Kuala Lumpur, turning a cultural moment into a measurable act of social impact. On the product side, the repositioning of RHB's Multi-Currency Debit Card, from travel tool to everyday payment solution, was backed by the bank’s first AI-generated brand film and the ‘Ms. Adventures’ mini rom-com series. The results were impressive: 48% YoY growth in multi-currency debit card uptake and a 38% YoY increase in total debit card retail spend. 

When it comes to innovation, Sani introduced weather-triggered dynamic DOOH that adapted RHB's Green Home Financing messaging in real time based on conditions on the ground. It was a stunning campaign that ran alongside the launch of a new Green Home Financing scheme with national mortgage issuer Cagamas, offering up to 110% financing for green-certified properties, making sustainable homeownership accessible beyond the affluent few.

Partnerships were key in how Sani continued building the bank’s brand equity through ESG and DEI under his tenure. A three-year partnership with Institut Jantung Negara launched in July 2025, which deployed a mobile healthcare clinic to deliver cardiac screenings and preventive care reaching 192 communities. He also helped scale the RHB Clean-A-Thon, Malaysia's first gotong-royong series by a financial institution, to its largest edition yet in 2025, mobilising over 700 volunteers to collect more than 6,600kg of waste nationwide, nearly three times the volume cleared at its inaugural run.

Beyond the bank, Sani remains one of the most active marketing voices in the region. He served on juries for Effie Awards Malaysia and Effie APAC, and sits on the Council of the Malaysian Advertisers Association. He is committed to building up young talent and mentors through the MAA Trailblazers Programme and University of Cyberjaya.