Cricket Victoria, the governing body for cricket in the Australian state of Victoria, has officially confirmed Harish Rao's appointment as a Director to the Board, which will come into effect from May 22 or earlier.
Reacting to the news, Rao, who will be the first Indian Australian appointed to the board in its almost 150-year history said, “I’d like to thank the Board of Cricket Victoria for this opportunity. Cricket holds a special place in the heart of so many Victorians. It is a privilege to be able to work with Cricket Victoria and drive the continual growth of the game in Australia.”
Currently, the executive director of the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce, Rao also serves on the board of the University of Melbourne's Australia India Institute and has spent two decades developing bilateral relations between India and Australia.
An experienced business leader, Rao also served as the global head of business development for Sundaram Financial Group and is currently its advisory board chair. With its headquarters in Chennai, India, Sundaram is a US$5 billion financial services corporation.
Welcoming the appointment, Cricket Victoria chair Ross Hepburn said, “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Harish at Cricket Victoria. Harish has extensive global business expertise, built on the strong cultural ties shared between our nations.”
“In addition to his success in the business sector, Rao has been involved in a range of global health, arts and philanthropy projects during his career. We look forward to having Mr Rao’s expertise in supporting our growth as an organization,” Hepburn added.
