Nazir Razak

Dato' Seri Mohd Nazir bin Tun Abdul Razak (born 1966) is a Malaysian banking executive. He is Chairman of CIMB Group, which is one of the largest financial services providers in Malaysia. He served as CEO of the group from 1999 to 2014. Nazir is the youngest son of the second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak, and a brother of the sixth and current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Early life and education

Nazir Abdul Razak was born in 1966 in Kuala Lumpur. His father died when he was 10 years old. He attended St. John's Institution and Alice Smith School and continued his secondary education at Oundle School in the United Kingdom from age 13.^[1][2] He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Politics from the University of Bristol and went on to obtain a Master of Philosophy in Development Economics from the University of Cambridge.^[3] He is of Bugis descent.^[4]

Career

After returning from the United Kingdom, Nazir joined the corporate advisory department of Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad. He rose to become Managing Director and Chief Executive of the bank, which by then was known as CIMB, in 1999.^[3] His tenure as CEO ended in 2014 after he resigned and took over as Chairman.^[5]

In April 2016 Razak took a one-month voluntary leave of absence from CIMB, while an independent review was being conducted into a $7 million transfer into his personal account from his brother, Najib, as part of the wider 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal.^[6] After the completion of the review by CIMB Group, Razak was cleared of any wrongdoing and resumed his role as CIMB Group Chairman and as a CIMB Bank director.^[7]

Nazir was named one of Asia’s 50 most influential figures of the last decade by FinanceAsia in 2006. He was also named the "Best Top Executive in Malaysia" by Asiamoney for two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010.^[3]

Personal life

Nazir is married to Dato' Azlina Aziz, who is the daughter of Tan Sri Aziz Taha, a former governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. The couple has two children.^[8]

Awards & Accolades

In October 2015, Nazir Razak was honored with Asia House Asian Business Leaders Award by Asia House for "underlined the benefits of cooperation and partnership across Asean through his support of learning, independent research and charitable works, as well as in his ambitious business strategy, demonstrating how a commercially successful Asean-wide initiative can bring people together for the common good.”^[9]He is member of the International Advisory Board at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.^[10]

References