H.E. Dr. Thach KAO, currently hold the portfolio of the Royal Government Delegate in charge as the C.E.O. of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB), was nominated to be the C.E.O. of the Rural Development Bank (RDB) on July 4th, 2014 then later transformed to be ARDB and to be member of the RDB’s Board on August 7th, 2014.

Currently, he is a member of Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) with the rank to Secretary of State and labor arbitrator of the Arbitration Council since 2003. He sworn in as Lawyer on October 8th, 2012 and adhered to member of Bar Association of Cambodia on October 10th, 2016. Before holding ARDB’s portfolio, he was Deputy Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia with the rank and privilege to Undersecretary of State and the Head of Financial Market Division, Financial Industry Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance. Working in law field, he used to be a legal officer in the Ministry of Justice and also in court. He was one of the key persons working toward the establishment of Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia and Cambodia Securities Exchange. Since joining the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2003, he has undertaken numerous assignments relating to financial sector development in Cambodia. These assignments include member of working groups responsible for drafting Law on Government Securities and Law on Issuance and Trading of Non-government Securities, and member of working group responsible for developing Financial Development Strategy 2006-2015 and 2011-2020. As arepresentative of the Ministry of Economy and Finance he has been involved in various ASEAN working groups in relation to capital market development such ABMI, ACMF, and Financial Services Liberalization.

He holds Bachelor of Law (LLB-Faculty of Law and Economics) in 1998 and Master of Laws from Bond University (Australia) in 2002, with an emphasis of International Trade Law System, WTO Legal Framework, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Dispute System Design. On May 11th, 2019 he graduated Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from EU Business School. His thesis is on “The
Rural Development Bank’s Transformation: The Case of Cambodia”. On December 30th, 2021 he graduated Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from the University of Cambodia. His dissertation on “The role of Securities regulators in Efficient Supervision and Regulations of the Securities Market in Cambodia”. Concerning the publications, in August 2022, his research paper: “Does the Role of
Securities Regulators Matter for The Development of Securities Market in Cambodia? An Exploratory Study” was published by Centre for ASEAN Studies (CAS)–Centre for International Management and Development Antwerp (CIMDA), in Belgium. In 2002, his book on “Dispute Settlement System of the World Trade Organization and Theories and Principle of Dispute System Design” was published by UTPP Press in Cambodia.