BTMA elects Jamuna's Shamim Islam as President after ministry ousts Russell

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has elected Md. Shamim Islam, Managing Director of Jamuna Hi-Tech Spinning Mills Ltd. and Jamuna Group, as its new President with immediate effect, according to an official association announcement issued on 10 November 2026.

The vote came at an emergency meeting of the BTMA Board of Directors, convened after a Ministry of Commerce notification released Showkat Aziz Russell from the presidency. That government notification is the trigger for everything that followed, and it's the detail sourcing managers and compliance teams watching Bangladesh's primary sector should register first: this was not an ordinary scheduled succession inside the trade body.

Who now runs BTMA?

Three appointments came out of the emergency board session:

• President: Md. Shamim Islam, Managing Director of Jamuna Hi-Tech Spinning Mills Ltd. and Jamuna Group
• Vice President (Category "A"): Chowdhury Mohammed Hanif Shoeb, Managing Director of Suraiya Spinning Mills Limited, filling the vacancy in that category
• Director (Category "A"): Md. Zahirul Islam, Managing Director of PHP Spinning Mills Ltd.

The announcement was signed by Brigadier General Md. Zakir Hossain, ndc, psc (retd.), Secretary General of BTMA. The association said the newly elected leadership will assume their responsibilities immediately.

What does the change actually mean?

BTMA is the trade association representing Bangladesh's textile mills — the spinning, weaving and dyeing tier that sits directly upstream of the country's cut-make-trim garment exporters. In practice, its presidency shapes how the spinning sector lobbies on cotton import duties, gas and power tariffs, and credit terms with banks and the central bank. A change at the top of the association matters to anyone sourcing yarn or fabric from Bangladesh, because it signals who will speak for mill owners in those policy conversations over the coming term.

The mechanics matter here too. The board made all three appointments in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of BTMA, the association's own governance document — meaning the succession follows the body's internal rulebook rather than any external appointment process. The Category "A" label refers to BTMA's classification of member mills for board representation purposes.

The unusual element is the cause: a Ministry of Commerce notification removed the sitting president, Showkat Aziz Russell, before the board acted. Government notifications of this kind remove an officeholder from the association's leadership; they do not themselves install a replacement. The emergency board meeting and the three elections were BTMA's response to that vacancy.

What should sourcing and compliance teams do?

For buyers with Bangladeshi mill suppliers, the practical step is simple: update your contact records for BTMA-level engagement. Any pending policy discussions, cotton or yarn-related consultations, or association correspondence that would have gone through the previous president's office now routes through Islam and the new vice president.

The deeper question — why the Ministry of Commerce moved against Russell — is not answered in the announcement, and the association's statement offers no explanation. Watch for further commerce ministry notifications or BTMA statements before reading anything more into the reshuffle.

One line to hold onto: Bangladesh's mill owners now have a Jamuna Group chief as their lead voice, effective immediately.