Daksesh Patel has been reappointed as the Director and Chair of the Fiji National Provident Fund Board effective from January 1st.

Patel’s appointment by Finance Minister Biman Prasad is in accordance with Section 7(1) of the FNPF Act, with his reappointment as Chair done in pursuant to Section 8(1) of the Act.

Patel was the InfraBuild Chief Executive from October 2019 to July 2021, helming the business during a time of transitional change.

As CEO, he led transformative activities to arrest the business’s performance trajectory, setting the foundation for optimization and establishing a platform for future growth.

He has held senior leadership roles in privately held businesses operating throughout the Oceania region and is a member of the Vinod Patel Group.

Throughout his career, he has continued to make a meaningful contribution to Fiji.

Patel is also a Director of InfraBuild (Australia), Energy Fiji Limited, ATH Limited, Vodafone Fiji, Vodafone PNG and Fiji Airways Limited.

During his tenure as Board Chair, the Fund treaded carefully during the COVID-19 pandemic, collaborating with the Government to ensure adverse effects to its members’ livelihoods were mitigated.

Despite these challenges, the Fund yielded high investment returns, which allowed the Board to declare a seven percent interest rate to members for the 2023 financial year, the highest credit interest rate declared by the Fund in 24 years.

Also during his term as Chair, the Fund recorded positive growth in its diversified investment portfolio, with assets totalling $9.5 billion and has paid out $2 billion in interest to members’ FNPF accounts in the last six years.

He joins Mukhtar Ali, Adish Naidu, Attar Singh, Joe Taoi and Shiri Gounder on the Board.

He will serve for four years.