Euan Smith Named CEO of Astro

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Henry Tan is retiring as group CEO of Astro effective at the end of January 2023, to be succeeded by Euan Smith, group COO and CEO of pay TV.

Smith joined the Malaysian entertainment provider in 2020 following stints at Sky and Foxtel. He takes on the CEO mantle at the beginning of February 2023. Tan will serve as an advisor, working on strengthening Astro’s content pipeline.

Tunku Ali Redhauddin Ibni Tuanku Muhriz, chairman of Astro, noted, “Henry has been an inspirational leader to all at Astro, having steered the team through different phases of the business, achieving several key milestones in the media and entertainment industry. An advocate of local content, Henry is best known for transforming local movies into box office sensations, and for building a vault of valuable content and original intellectual property, which is central to Astro’s core.

“Today’s announcement underscores what has long been a hallmark of Astro—our unwavering embrace of the future,” Smith said. “I wish to thank the board for the opportunity to lead Astro to the next level, and to Henry for all the support he has offered me as a valued colleague and friend. I look forward to working with him in his new role. Team Astro has made great strides over the last two years, including the aggregation of the best global streaming services all in one place, the introduction of a sparkling new, personalized Astro via our hybrid Ultra 4K UHD and Ulti HD boxes, entry into the internet service provider market with Astro Fibre, the launch of our new OTT product, sooka and many more. I believe Astro is now uniquely positioned to maximize the opportunities presented by the ever-changing media and entertainment landscape.”

Tan said: “I would like to thank team Astro, whose dedication has been fundamental to achieving many firsts—from the introduction of HD, freemium multichannel NJOI TV, raising the stature of Astro own content, signatures and originals, launching and growing Astro’s education brand Tutor TV to its 5 million reach, to Astro First, Malaysia’s largest in-home cinema—all of which were instrumental in cementing Astro’s position as the entertainment destination for Malaysians. I am also grateful for all the leaders before me who put the foundations in place and inspired me and the team to achieve many successes in our journey to better serve Malaysians.”