U Thu Ra recently joined First Private Bank Public Company Limited as Chief Executive Officer. He has over 30 years of involvement in the banking and finance field. He received his B. Com degree from Institute of Economics, Yangon in 1988 with Banking and Management Science Elective and joined State-owned Myanma Economic Bank as an Assistant Manager in March 1992. While working at Myanma Economic Bank, he was awarded scholarship by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to study for his Master’s Degree in Japan in 2000. He earned his Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo, Japan in 2001.

U Thu Ra served in various positions in Myanma Economic Bank including Regional Manager of Yangon Division and Sagaing Division before transferred to Myanma Economic Bank head office in Nay Pyi Taw in 2008. He also served as Assistant General Manager in Administration Department, Loans and Supervision Department and Research, Training and Public Relations Department before he quit Myanma Economic Bank in May 2015. He has attended several training courses, seminars and workshops in various countries during his tenure with Myanma Economic Bank.

After leaving Myanma Economic Bank, he joined Yangon Representative Office of Woori Bank, one of the leading commercial banks in Korea, as Chief Representative from July 2015 to September 2017. Moreover, he also worked as Chief Executive Officer of Small & Medium Enterprises Development Bank (SMEDB) for 2 years, from October 2021 to October 2023.