Prior to the appointment, Dharma held the role of executive vice-president in Venture Corp Ltd.

He also served as an engineer at Seagate Corp and an engineering manager at Quantum Corp.

“ATA is confident that Dharma’s knowledge and experience will further the group’s goal of strengthening our position as the leading electronics manufacturing services provider in Malaysia and the region,” it said in a statement.

Dharma succeeds Balachandran Govindasamy, who stepped down from the post on Dec 31, citing “health issues”.

Balachandran’s resignation came a month after high-tech home appliance maker Dyson Ltd announced that it had cut ties with the company following an audit of the company’s labour practices and allegations of labour abuse by a whistleblower.

ATA IMS has since said that findings from a labour audit were inconclusive. It previously denied the allegations.