Dr. Munir started his illustrious career in 1978 as a leader writer for The New Straits Times Press, and progressed to become its group editor. He left NST in 1986 to become CEO of Pertanian Baring Sanwa (PBS), whose name he changed to Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB), which later transformed into one of Malaysia’s leading merchant banks. He was invited by the Government of Malaysia to establish and become the first and founding Executive Chairman of the Securities Commission in 1993, where he served for two terms until 1999.
Upon leaving the Securities Commission, he has served as Chairman on the BOD of reputable organisations across various industries, including Celcom Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines, Bank Muamalat Malaysia, CIMB Asean Research Institute, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, and the Malaysian Chapter of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. Dr. Munir is also an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics (LSE), and both started and headed its Southeast Asia International Affairs Programme. He has written for IDEAS publications and published in International Politics, a British academic journal.
Tan Sri Munir was appointed the Chairman of ICMR in November 2019.