Board of Directors and profiles
Profiles of Board Members
Mr K G D D Dheerasinghe
Chairman
Chairman of the Board since July 2014
Chairman of the Board Human Resources and Remuneration Committee (BHRRC), Board Nomination Committee (BNC), Board Credit Committee (BCC), Board Investment Committee (BIC), and Board Related Party Transactions Review Committee (BRPTRC)
Independent Non-Executive Director since December 2011
Skills and experience
An eminent Economist with a distinguished career of over 41 years in the banking industry. Published widely and presented papers on many aspects of economics including debt capital markets and financial globalisation in Sri Lanka and overseas.
Holds a B.Phil. (Econ.) and B.Com. with first class honours from the University of Colombo and MA (Econ.) from the University of Leeds, UK. Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and Honorary ACI Diploma holder.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2015.
Other current appointments
Chairman, Commex Sri Lanka S.R.L. Italy, Chairman, Serendib Finance Limited (the above companies are subsidiaries of the Bank).
Previous appointments
Senior Deputy Governor of the CBSL. Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee and the Sovereign Ratings Committee. Secretary to the Monetary Board. Alternate Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka at the International Monetary Fund. Chairman, Bartleet Finance PLC.
Shareholding of Bank
Holds 23,567 voting shares
Mr M P Jayawardena
Deputy Chairman
Deputy Chairman since July 2014
Chairman of the Board Integrated Risk Management Committee (BIRMC)
Independent Non-Executive Director since December 2011
Skills and experience
A senior finance professional with wide experience in the corporate sector, both in Sri Lanka and overseas.
Fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since March 2000.
Other current appointments
Chairman, Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. Group Director, CIC Holdings PLC. Chairman, Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Limited. Group Consultant to Chemanex PLC and Chairman of a few subsidiaries thereof. Serves on the Boards of many other private companies.
Previous appointments
Head of Treasury, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Mr J Durairatnam
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer since July 2014
Executive Director since April 2012 and former Chief Operating Officer
Skills and experience
Substantial professional experience in Banking, covering all aspects of International Trade, Off Shore Banking, Credit, Operations, and Information Technology. He has served the Bank in several management positions, including, Chief Operating Officer, Deputy General Manager, Assistant General Manager – International Division and Head of Imports counting nine years as a member of Corporate Management.
Holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Peradeniya.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2013.
Other current appointments
Managing Director, Commercial Development Company PLC (the above company is a subsidiary of the Bank), Director, Lanka Financial Services Bureau Limited, Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited, The Financial Ombudsman Sri Lanka (Guarantee) Limited.
Previous appointments
None
Shareholding of Bank
Holds 616,800 voting shares
Mr S Swarnajothi
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in August 2012
Chairman of the Board Audit Committee (BAC)
Skills and experience
A senior finance professional with experience in both private and public sectors.
Fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and CMA Sri Lanka, a member of CMA Australia. Holds a BSc. Degree in Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a MSc in Project Management from the University of Moratuwa.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2015.
Other current appointments
Member of the Tax Appeals Commission, which position he had held since May 2014. Member of the National Salaries and Cadre Commission – March 2016. Member of the Governing Council of Moratuwa University – from August 2016.
Previous appointments
Auditor General of Sri Lanka from January 2008 to August 2010.
Shareholding of Bank
Holds 10,762 non-voting shares
Mr S Renganathan
Appointed as an Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer in July 2014
Skills and experience
A senior banker counting over 35 years, he led the Bank’s acquisition of the Bangladesh operations of Crédit Agricole Indosuez (CAI), Commercial Bank’s first ever acquisition of a banking operation, subsequently building up the same as Country Manager. He has also held several other key positions at the Bank including Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking and the first Chief Risk Officer of the Bank.
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (FCMA), CGMA. Fellow of the IFS School of Finance, UK (Fifs) and a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (FIB).
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2013.
Other current appointments
Director of Commercial Bank of Maldives Private Limited, Director of International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka.
Previous appointments
Member of the General Council of the Institute of Bankers of Bangladesh, Founder President Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Executive Member, Foreign Investor Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh.
Shareholding of Bank
Holds 319,792 voting and 11,718 non-voting shares
Prof A K W Jayawardane
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2015
Chairman of the Board Technology Committee (BTC)
Skills and experience
Vice Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa until November 27, 2017 and a Senior Professor in Civil Engineering. An academic of high repute, he brings considerable knowledge and experience of IT to the Board.
Holds a PhD in Construction Management and a Master of Science Degree in Construction from the Loughborough University of Technology, UK and a BSc. Eng. in Civil Engineering Degree with first class honours from the University of Moratuwa.
Also a Corporate Member, a Fellow and an International Professional Engineer of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), CEng, FIE(SL), IntPE(SL), Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka, FNAS (SL), Founder Member of the Society of Structural Engineers Sri Lanka MSSE (SL). Fellow of the Institute of Project Managers, Sri Lanka, FIPM (SL).
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2015.
Other current appointments
Director of Sierra Cables PLC, Chairman of ONEzero Company Limited and a member of the Board of the Management of several other institutions.
Previous appointments
Dean, Faculty of Engineering for six years. First NDB Bank Endowed Professor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Moratuwa. President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL).
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Mr K Dharmasiri
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in July 2015
Skills and experience
A senior banker counting over 37 years at Bank of Ceylon and retiring as its General Manager/Chief Executive Officer, he has diversified experience both within and outside Sri Lanka.
Holds a B.Phil. (Econ.) and B.Com. with first class honours from the University of Colombo. Also an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since December 2015.
Other current appointments
None.
Previous appointments
Non-Executive Nominee Director on the Boards of Janashakthi Insurance Limited, Sabaragamuwa Development Bank, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC, BOC Travels (Pvt) Limited, BOC Property Development & Management (Pvt) Limited, Ceybank Holiday Homes (Pvt) Limited, Hotels Colombo (1963) Limited, Ceybank Asset Management Limited, Lanka Securities (Pvt) Limited, Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, Lanka Financial Services Bureau Limited, LankaClear (Pvt) Limited, Bank of Ceylon (UK) Limited and Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Mr L D Niyangoda
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in August 2016
Skills and experience
He has a proven track record of over 30 years in the corporate environment and is qualified in various management fields both locally as well as internationally.
Consultant Business and Administration experience for a period of 35 years.
Holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Peradeniya.
Member of numerous professional bodies, including the Council for Agricultural Research Policy of Sri Lanka, Standing Committee of Agriculture and Veterinary Studies, University Grants Commission and Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since March 2000.
Other current appointments
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of A Baur & Co. (Pvt) Limited, Director of Baur Asia (Pte) Limited, Singapore. Serves on the Boards of many other Companies.
Previous appointments
Chief Operating Officer – A Baur & Company (Pvt) Limited.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Ms N T M S Cooray
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in September 2016
Skills and experience
A senior finance professional with wide experience in the private sector.
Holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Colombo, Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants – UK (FCMA).
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since July 2006.
Other current appointments
Managing Director of Jetwing Travels (Pvt) Limited, Advisory Council for Tourism and a member of the Board of the Management of several other institutions.
Previous appointments
Former Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. Director – Finance and Administration on the Board of J Walter Thompson, Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Capital Alliance Finance PLC, Trade Finance and Investments PLC and serves on the Boards of many other private and public companies.
Shareholding of Bank
Holds 49,731 non-voting shares
Mr G S Jadeja
Appointed as a Non-Executive Director in September 2016
Skills and experience
A senior finance professional with wide experience in the private sector.
Holds an MBA in Finance from Baruch College CUNY, a Master’s Degree in Hotel Management from Oberoi School of Hotel Management (A Cornell University Affiliate Programme) and B.A. (Honours) from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi.
Other current appointments
Global Head, Financial Innovation at the International Finance Corporation.
Previous appointments
Held several key positions as Regional Industry Head – Asia, Senior Manager– Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Mexico/Bogota, Manager – East Asia and The Pacific Region, Hong Kong, Senior/Principal Investment Officer – Financial Markets Division, Washington D.C. at The International Finance Corporation.
Also served as a Director Acquisition/Integration and Business Development, New York, NY, Director Finance and Assistant to the CFO, Manager/Senior Manager – Finance at American Express Travel Related Services Inc.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Mr T L B Hurulle
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2017
Skills and experience
Holds a Diploma in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (Dip.R), Southbank University, London SE1, UK and Engineering Apprentices I and II Programme, University of Moratuwa.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since August 2017.
Other current appointments
None
Previous appointments
Senior Manager/Engineer, Tudawe Trading Co. (Pvt) Limited, Director – General, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Designs and Applications Engineer, Metropolitan Air Con and Refrigeration Limited, London, UK, Senior Engineer, Walker Sons & Co. Limited, Divisional Manager/Chief Engineer, Walker Sons & Co. Limited, Manager, Worldview Global Learning and Manager – Administration, Foundation for Co-Existence.
He was a Corporate Member (M. Inst.R), of the Institute of Refrigeration, Surrey, United Kingdom (1977-1978).
He was awarded the INFOTEL “92 Pioneering” Award at the inauguration of INFOTEL 2017 ICT Exhibition and was a member of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reform (PRC – CR) 2016/2017.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Justice K Sripavan
Appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2017
Skills and experience
Appointed as the Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on January 30, 2015 and held office until March 1, 2017.
Functioned as the Chairman of the Judicial Services Commission of Sri Lanka, Chairman of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute and Chairman of the Superior Court Complex, Board of Management.
Enrolled as an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1977. He obtained a Diploma in Industrial Law from the University of Colombo in 1992 and Master of Laws from the University of London in 1994.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since August 2017.
Other current appointments
None
Previous appointments
Head of the Court of Appeal Unit in the Attorney General’s Department and handled a large volume of work both in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court including Bills and Fundamental Rights Applications. Prior to the elevation to the Court of Appeal Bench he functioned as a Legal Consultant for the National Savings Bank for two years.
Appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal in May 2002 and was elevated to the post of President of the Court of Appeal in March 2007 by his Excellency the President. Elevated to the Supreme Court Bench in March 2008.
Shareholding of Bank
Nil
Mrs J R Gamage
Company Secretary
Appointed as Company Secretary in May 2014
Skills and experience
An Attorney-at-Law who counts over19 years experience at the Bank. She holds a Diploma in Company Secretarial Practice from the Institute of Chartered Corporate Secretaries of Sri Lanka and a Post Attorney Diploma in Banking and Insurance Laws from the Incorporated Council of Legal Education of Sri Lanka. She has received extensive training on Secretarial and Legal fields at a leading Law Firm prior to joining the Bank.
Member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors since October 2017.
Other current appointments
None
Previous appointments
None
Shareholding of Bank
76,564 voting shares
