BOC new Chairman assumes office

Bank of Ceylon, new Chairman Razik Zarook assumed office yesterday.

Razik Zarook

Zarook is also a diplomat and former Chairman of a number of Public Corporations and is also a senior Attorney at Law and President's Counsel who was enrolled to the Bar in 1969. His management skills 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 turbulent times.

Under his tenure, the CWE was a model profitable and viable organization having diversified and acquired many assets developing real estates and establishing a number of public and quoted companies as Sathosa Motors Limited, Sathosa Printers Limited and Lanka Milk Foods Limited of which he was founder Chairman.

Zarook also held office as Chairman of the Agricultural Development Authority and National Aquatic Research and Development Authority (NARA).

He did serve as the Ambassador to the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and thereafter as the first Ambassador to Hungary.

Subsequently he was appointed as High Commissioner to Singapore. Apart from his professional education at the Sri Lanka Law College, Zarook is also an Alumni of the Indian Institute of Management Ahamedabad.