Ahsan Mansur new Brac Bank chairperson
Economist Ahsan H Mansur has recently been elected as the new chairperson of Brac Bank.
He is succeeding Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the founder chairperson of the bank. Abed retired from his role as both chairperson and member of the bank’s board, the private commercial bank said in a statement yesterday.
He first led the bank as the chairperson from 2001 to 2008. He returned as the chairperson in February 2013.
With Abed at the helm, Brac Bank has proven itself to be one of the most successful financial institutions in Bangladesh, ensuring inclusion of the unbanked population in the financial system, the statement said.
“Brac Bank was founded to create greater financial access for the “missing middle” – the small and medium entrepreneurs of Bangladesh – who needed institutional financing to grow and prosper,” Abed said.
“Encouraging entrepreneurship is key to sustaining Bangladesh’s flourishing economic growth. I am confident that under the able guidance of Dr. Mansur, Brac Bank will remain true to its vision and continue to generate growth opportunities for the promising entrepreneurs of the country.”
An independent director of the bank since May 2017, Mansur started his career as a lecturer at the economics department of the University of Dhaka in 1976. He joined the International Monetary Fund in 1981 and completed his PhD in economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1982.
He served as the division chief of the Gulf Cooperation Council Division and was the IMF Mission Chief for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman. He acted as the fiscal adviser to Bangladesh’s finance ministry in 1989-91.
After retiring from the IMF, Mansur co-founded the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh where he is currently the executive director.
Mansur said: “Sir Abed is an iconic figure. No one can substitute him for his proven capacity for institution-building. I am extremely grateful to him and the board for showing confidence in me for leading the institution into the future.”
