Mr. Richard Nelson Maru, is the current Managing Director, and hails from Yangoru, in the East Sepik Province and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the prestigious University of Bath, United Kingdom.

He was appointed to lead the Bank in May 2004 when the previous Rural Development Bank was declared insolvent.

At the time of his appointment he was the Manager of Policy and Project with the Independent Public Business Corporation.

He is not a new comer to the Bank as he was the Project Manager of the Bank from December 1999 to March 2001, where he was responsible for undertaking a number of key and strategic projects including the development of the Electoral Credit Scheme, and the Management of the Smallholder Agriculture Credit Scheme.

Prior to this, Mr. Maru held very senior positions within the private sector and state owned enterprises.

From April 2001 to March 2002 he was the Executive Manager – Corporate Relations for the PNG Waterboard, Retail and Distributor Manager for Shell PNG. He was also the Area Manager for Brisbane in Shell Australia where he was seconded as Senior Area Manager with Shell Australia. This engagement has exposed Mr. Maru to the Australian work culture and business ethics.

Currently Mr. Maru is the serving Board Chairman of the National Housing Corporation, Board Member of Micro Finance Pasifika, Board Director of Kumul Hotels Limited, Executive Committee Member of Mainland Holdings Limited Board, Board Member of the PNG Institute of Banking and Business Management, and his also a Founding Member of PNG Institute of Company Directors.

Under Mr. Maru’s leadership the Bank has reversed its financial performance from reporting a financial loss of K27 Million in 2004 to reporting a profit of K3 Million in 2005 and K6 Million in 2006, and is expected to perform very strongly in 2007. The Bank’s balance sheet has also seen a growth of the net assets from K5 Million in 2003 to K39 Million in early 2007, with an expectation of growth beyond K40 Million by end of 2007.

Mr. Maru enjoys sports being a former Rugby League Sports Administrator and also retains a keen interest for further post – graduate studies.