Ashok Ramamurthy
KUCHING: AmBank Group chairman, Tan Sri Azman Hashim yesterday announced the appointment of Ashok Ramamurthy as the new Group managing director.
According to a press release Ramamurthy would be appointed to the board of directors of AMMB Holdings Bhd and would continue to serve as a board member of key subsidiaries of AmBank Group including AmBank (M) Bhd, AmInvestment Bank Bhd, AmIslamic Bank Bhd and AmInvestment Management Sdn Bhd.
Additionally, he would hold the position of chief executive officer of AmBank (M) Bhd and be appointed to the board of directors of other key subsidiaries including the insurance companies.
Ramamurthy, aged 50 spent most of his career with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), commencing in 1988. He joined AmBank Group in 2007 as a representative of ANZ, holding the position of chief financial officer and in October 2008, he was appointed to hold dual roles as deputy Group managing director and chief financial officer.
He would formally step down as the senior ANZ representative following this appointment. Prior to serving the AmBank Group, he with ANZ for over 23 years building an impressive track record, holding various key positions across multiple geographies including New Zealand, Australia, India and now Malaysia.
His strong banking experience included commercial banking, financial markets, funds management and insurance, wealth management, banking products and transaction services, and personal banking.
“He is well qualified to lead AmBank Group towards its aspirations of being Malaysia’s preferred banking group with international connectivity. He has been an outstanding deputy Group managing director playing a significant role in developing the Group’s strategy, an experienced all-round banker and was independently voted by members of Malaysian Investor Relations Association as Malaysia’s Best chief financial officer for 2011,” Tan Sri Azman Hashim said.
Commenting on his appointment Ramamurthy said, “It was a pleasure to work with Cheah over the last few years and I am indeed honoured to have been chosen by consensus of the full board to lead AmBank Group. I have been an ‘AmBanker’ for several years now and I am looking forward to being its Group managing director, building on AmBank Group’s solid banking franchise, strengths and reputation to lead AmBank Group into its next phase of its growth journey.”