Yusri Safri is new Sesco CEO

KUCHING (April 1): Yusri Safri has been appointed the new chief executive officer of Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco), the retail and operations arm of Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB).

In a statement, SEB said the appointment is part of its ongoing leadership succession and organisational development efforts to support the Group’s long-term growth and operational priorities.

Yusri will report to SEB Group CEO Datuk Sharbini Suhaili.

Sharbini said the appointment reflected the company’s continued focus on developing leaders with strong operational experience and strategic perspective.

Prior to this, Yusri served in Contract and Procurement, where he led key initiatives in category management, procurement efficiency, vendor development and centralised operational planning.

Sharbini said these efforts contributed to SEB being recognised by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply as an excellent procurement organisation.

“Yusri brings a combination of deep technical expertise and strong leadership acumen. With a strong foundation in engineering and regional operations, he has built a broad management portfolio across retail, distribution and corporate services,” he said.

Yusri succeeds Lau Kim Swee, who has been appointed executive vice president for project delivery for the Group and its subsidiaries, also effective April 1.

Lau will continue to serve on the Group Executive Committee, reporting to the Group CEO.

On Lau’s new role, Sharbini said Lau will oversee the end-to-end delivery of Sarawak Energy’s major power infrastructure projects, which are crucial to the state’s growth trajectory, grid resilience, and the government’s aspiration to achieve 10-gigawatts of generation capacity by 2030.

He described Lau as well-suited for the portfolio, citing his professionalism, commitment to excellence and transformative leadership during his tenure at Sesco.

He added that Lau, since assuming the role of Sesco CEO in 2016, has led the utility’s transformation, driving operational excellence, digitalisation and customer-focused services. Under his leadership, power theft losses were significantly reduced while supply reliability improved.

Lau also spearheaded the adoption of automation, digitalisation and smart grid systems, advancing Sesco towards its digital utility vision, while enhancing customer experience through initiatives such as the SEB Cares mobile application and Smart Retail services.

“Lau has also instilled a high-performance culture in Sesco, emphasising proactive service, operational agility and a strong customer focus.

“Sarawak Energy remains committed to its mission to power Sarawak’s growth and meet the region’s need for reliable, renewable energy,” Sharbini said.