Bank of Ceylon New Chairman Razik Zarook

Zarook, Diplomat, a senior Attorney at Law , a President’s counsel and former chairman of the CWC assumed yesterday duties as the Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon.

He took over from long-standing Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe, who resigned last week after a six-year stint at one of the leading state banks.

Mr. Razik Zarook is a leading lawyer from Matara and was enrolled to the Bar in 1969.

Mr Zarook came to the limelight when he was appointed Chairman of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) by the then Trade and Shipping Minister late Lalith Athulathmudali.

“He was given the responsibility of turning around the CWE to become an efficient and viable much sought after consumer organization responsible for the wide distribution of essential commodities without letting any artificial scarcities to be created even during the turbulent times,” a bank statement said.

The late President Premadasa appointed him as Ambassador to the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and thereafter as the first Ambassador to Hungary

He was founder chairman of Lanka Milk Foods Ltd in addition to being a former Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore.

Zarook, an old boy of St. Servatius College, Matara and Zahira College, Colombo also held office as Chairman of the Agricultural Development Authority and National Aquatic Research and Development Authority (NARA).

Apart from his professional education at the Sri Lanka Law College, Zarook is also an Alumni of the Indian Institute of Management Ahamedabad.

- Asian Tribune -