Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, managing director and chief executive officer of Robi Axiata Ltd, has stepped down from his position.

Mahtab made the disclosure on his Facebook while Robi also confirmed the development in a statement.

The telecom operator said Mahtab decided not to renew his contract.

"His term with Robi will officially come to an end on 31 October 2021, but he has decided to go on leave with immediate effect," said Robi in a statement today.

Robi's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), M Riyaaz Rasheed, in addition to his current role, will serve as the Acting CEO with immediate effect, it added.

In his Facebook post today, Mahtab said he "decided not to renew my contract with Axiata."

Mahtab took charge as CEO of Robi, second biggest telecom operator in terms of subscribers, five years ago.

He is in Australia at present, said Mahtab in the post.

"Every great journey comes to end; and my glorious journey with Robi has come to an end too!" -- said Mahtab in his post.

The Daily Star tried to contact Mahtab by phone, and texted him through WhatsApp. He did not reply.

Chairman of Robi Board of Directors, Thayaparan Sangarapillai said, "On behalf of the Robi Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mahtab for establishing Robi firmly as the leading digital service provider of the country."

In his Facebook post, Mahtab said, "Despite being an introvert, I feel that my relationship with each one of you (Robi family, stakeholders, regulators, Robi customers etc.) is from the heart or way beyond our professional connection.

"While I enjoyed working and being with you all in Bangladesh, I have also been away from my family for the last six years. Now I would like to give them a turn to spend more time with me while I figure out my next course of action!"

Mahtab joined Robi in September 2010 as the chief financial officer (CFO) and held the position till 2014.

He was then appointed as the chief operating officer from April 2014 to March 2016. Later, he took the helm of Robi.

Before joining Robi, Mahtab worked at Unilever.

An alumnus of Harvard Business School, Mahtab obtained his undergraduate and master's degrees in accounting from Dhaka University.