Dr. Veerathai was appointed as the 23rd Governor of Thailand’s central bank - Bank of Thailand, on October 1, 2015, a position he held until his term finished on September 30, 2020. He is the youngest governor of the Bank of Thailand in forty years. During his tenure, the Bank of Thailand transformed the country’s faster payment system and fintech landscape, and received the Initiative of the Year and Artificial Intelligence Initiative awards from Central Banking journal.
He is a macroeconomist, strategist, and financial professional with more than 20 years of experience in economic policy design, commercial banking, and capital markets.
Dr. Veerathai started working at the International Monetary Fund at Washington DC responsible for advising governments and central banks of member countries. He had also served as the Chair of the Central Bank Governance Forum and the Asian Consultative Council of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) as well as the Chair of the South East Asian Central Banks Board of Governors (SEACEN).
During the year 2000-2008, he joined the Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, and conducted a major organizational reform after the 1997 economic crisis. He held various positions at the boards of leading corporations, including Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL, Thai Airways International PCL, and Central Pattana PCL.
During the year 2009-2013, he worked with the Stock Exchange of Thailand which was the time when the stock exchange reformed the organization. By holding the position Vice President, his corporate planning strategy has developed the country's capital market development plan into in-depth capital market research, pushing the Thai Stock Exchange to be recognized in many of the world capital markets stage, and created a network of cooperation with the stock exchanges in the ASEAN region.
Veerathai earned a Ph.D. and A.M. in Economics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Economics (First Class Honors) from Thammasat University. He was awarded Anandamahidol Foundation Scholarship, Eisenhower Fellowship, and S.R. Nathan Fellowship.
