Leela Barrock, 55, a Malaysian, was appointed as the Chief Communications Officer of Sime Darby Plantation Berhad on 15 September 2021.
She has worked in the media and communications industries for more than 25 years. She started her career in 1994 as a financial journalist with the Business Times. In 2000, she joined Malaysia’s leading financial and investment weekly, The Edge, covering capital markets and the corporate sector. Her main areas of coverage were the plantation and commodities sector, the auto sector and, media and regulatory developments in the capital markets. She was Associate Editor of The Edge when she left in 2008 to join Sime Darby Berhad where she headed global communications for nine years. In that role, she oversaw the functions of Communications, Corporate Affairs, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Investor Relations.
She left Sime Darby Berhad in 2017 to establish a boutique consultancy offering strategic communications advice and solutions to Boards and Chief Executives in challenging situations, as well as the advocacy and counsel required in crisis management.
Leela obtained her LLB (Hons) from the University of London in 1990 and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1992. She read in chambers at Skrine & Company but left the legal profession to pursue her career in journalism.
Between 2017 and 2020, Leela was a Governor of the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Cancer Research Malaysia.