Former PETRONAS comms lead Varian Ignatius clocks in at Bank Negara Malaysia

Varian Ignatius, former head of communications for the transformation office at PETRONAS Digital, has joined Bank Negara Malaysia as deputy director, strategic communications. He oversees media relations and internal communications, reporting to Shasha Kartini Ridzam, director of strategic communications.

Ignatius (pictured) joined PETRONAS Digital, formerly known as PETRONAS ICT, as head, communications management in 2018 to lead internal communications and stakeholder engagement. He also led a team of writers support PETRONAS's digital transformation efforts. He then took on the role of head of communications, transformation office for PETRONAS Digital last January.

Throughout the three years at PETRONAS, Ignatius told A+M that his most memorable moment in the company was when he was the project lead for PETRONAS Digital Day, one of the largest internal events for the company. Planned as a physical, conference-style event that would be run from one location - Kuala Lumpur - over two consecutive days.

Additionally, Ignatius developed and aligned the communications strategy for PETRONAS, which he said impacted 48,000 employees and stakeholders. He also crafted narratives, digital content and applied strategic, data and visual storytelling to increase staff engagement from year to year. 

According to his LinkedIn profile, Ignatius has over 19 years of experience under his belt, coaching CEOs and senior executives on what to say and how to say it. He believes that "communications, at its core, should inspire and rally people to action". He also has a variety of experiences ranging from the oil and gas industry, financial services, and hospitality to consumer brand marketing. 

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