London, May 29: Mathew Panikar, chairman of Reliance Europe Limited, London, the international arm of the Reliance group, died here today following a brief illness. Panikar, 64, is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, the company sources said.

Educated in Kerala, Mumbai and Harvard universities, Panikar was a chartered accountant and fellow member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Over the years, Panikar had been actively involved in the evolution of public policy for private sector development in several emerging markets and has published several papers.

Prior to joining the Reliance group, Panikar worked for over two decades with Unilever including as director, finance and strategy formulation of Hindustan Lever Limited. He was also the treasurer of Unilever, London.

Bureau Report