Meet The SLID Governing Council
MS. AROSHI NANAYAKKARA - CHAIRPERSON
Ms. Aroshi Nanayakkara is the CEO of the Global Consulting Company and a dynamic leader in the field of Strategic Planning, HR and Risk Management having gathered extensive experience through her 20 plus years in multinationals as well as some of Sri Lanka’s prominent blue-chip companies.
She serves on the Board of Sampath Bank PLC and is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Hela Clothing (Pvt) Ltd, Hela Apparel Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Foundation Garments (Pvt) Ltd and F D N Sourcing (Pvt) Ltd. She has worked in the banking, financial services and manufacturing sectors and was formerly an Independent Non-Executive Director of Siyapatha Finance PLC and Sampath IT Solutions (Pvt) Ltd as well as a Director of Delmege Interior Décor (Pvt) Ltd.
She was recently recognized as one of the top 22 women leaders of Sri Lanka at the World Women Leadership Congress & Awards 2020 by CMO Asia and was recognized as one of the Top 50 Professional & Career Women 2020 conducted by Women in Management.
Ms. Nanayakkara holds a BSc. From the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA in addition to a MSc. from the London School of Economics (LSE). She also holds the professional qualifications of ACMA and CGMA from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA), UK.
MR. DINESH WEERAKKODY - Senior VICE CHAIRMAN
Dinesh Weerakkody is Chairman of Cornucopia Sri Lanka and Director of several companies including GlaxoSmithKline (Consumer) Sri Lanka . He is a former Chairman of Hatton National Bank PLC Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, the Employees’ Trust Fund Board of Sri Lanka, the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka, the National Human Resource Development Council of Sri Lanka. He was also an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs and the Minister of Tourism Development . He was also the Chairman of the Government -appointed Committee to review the Banking Sector and NBFI consolidation and the Committee appointed to review the budgetary allocation for Education. He is also a former Director of DFCC Bank , Hemas Holdings PLC and Ceylon Tobacco PLC. Mr. Weerakkody is a Graduate in Business Administration (Advanced Diploma) from ABE UK, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and the Certified Management Accountants of (Sri Lanka), and a Professional Member of the Singapore Human Resource Institute and holds an MBA from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
Also is a IPM HR senior Certified professional (USA) . He was conferred an honorary membership by the Institute of Personnel Management of Sri Lanka in 2008 for contribution to HR. Was also conferred a Doctorate in Business Administration ( honoris causa) from the American National Business University USA. Mr. Weerakkody is a Council Member of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, Immediate Past Chairman International Chamber of Commerce and the Vice President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors of Sri Lanka and was a Member of the CIMA Asia Pac Industry Advisory Board and Vice President of Sri Lanka Tennis and is a member of the Sri Lanka Cricket Financial Advisory Body. He is a recipient of many national awards and an Author of six books and is a business commentator . He is a recipient of Sri Lanka National Honours – in 2019.
MR. DILSHAN RODRIGO – Vice Chairperson
Skills & Experience
Other Current Appointments
Mr Rodrigo has held many senior positions in multiple industries ranging from banking, insurance, investment banking and apparel. He presently functions as Chairman of HNB Finance PLC and holds Directorships in HNB Assurance PLC, Guardian Acquity Assets Management Limited, Lanka Financial Services Bureau and Credit Information Bureau. Mr Rodrigo serves on the councils of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) and was the Chairman Policy Advocacy Committee of Asian Bankers Association (Taiwan) during 2011/12 and 2019/20. Previous Appointments He has served as a lecturer and examiner on various undergraduate and postgraduate programs (CIMA, ACCA, PIM and University of Wales MBA programs) and is a Guest Lecturer for SLID, Director Certification Program. He has presented various technical papers in various forums locally and overseas on Strategy, Business Transformation and Risk Management. Mr Rodrigo has also served on local governing councils of CIMA, APB, ACCA and Risk Professional Forum and in the latter two as President.
Mr Rodrigo possesses over two decades in banking experience and is the Executive Director / Chief Operating Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC. He provides administrative leadership to Finance, Credit, Operations, Risk Management, Banking Services, Compliance and Internal Audit functions. He is overseeing the cross functional teams involved in improving governance and compliance by serving in several Board and Management committees in the Bank. Mr. Rodrigo holds a MBA from Cranfied University UK, FCMA UK and FCCA UK.
He has played a catalyst role in the bank’s transformation and cultural change by being the driving force towards centralization, automation, outsourcing and process improvement initiatives and is recognized for driving a performance culture through training, talent acquisition and introducing several break through cost optimization initiatives.Other Current Appointments
Mr Rodrigo has held many senior positions in multiple industries ranging from banking, insurance, investment banking and apparel. He presently functions as Chairman of HNB Finance PLC and holds Directorships in HNB Assurance PLC, Guardian Acquity Assets Management Limited, Lanka Financial Services Bureau and Credit Information Bureau. Mr Rodrigo serves on the councils of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) and was the Chairman Policy Advocacy Committee of Asian Bankers Association (Taiwan) during 2011/12 and 2019/20. Previous Appointments He has served as a lecturer and examiner on various undergraduate and postgraduate programs (CIMA, ACCA, PIM and University of Wales MBA programs) and is a Guest Lecturer for SLID, Director Certification Program. He has presented various technical papers in various forums locally and overseas on Strategy, Business Transformation and Risk Management. Mr Rodrigo has also served on local governing councils of CIMA, APB, ACCA and Risk Professional Forum and in the latter two as President.
MR. FAIZAL SALIEH – IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN
A well-experienced Board Director and independent consultant in Banking and Finance, Corporate Governance, and Business Strategy. Council Member & Consultant at Gerson Lehrman Group, USA.
A First Class Honours University Graduate in Economics, specialized in Banking & Finance, MBA and FCPM. Has long and extensive experience in commercial and development banking both in Sri Lanka and overseas and has held top management positions in global and local banks such as Grindlays Bank, ANZ Bank, NDB and Amana Bank. Experienced Board director of several diverse companies in the business of banking, finance, insurance, fund management, stockbroking, manufacturing, trading and education. Has served on State University Boards, and several Government and Non-Governmental Committees in the fields of finance, economic affairs, housing development, construction and tertiary education; and on the Board of Directors of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, and Lanka Clear (Pvt) Limited.
Corporate Sector experience is over 40 years, including over 20 years at the Senior Management level; 14 years at MD/CEO level and over 30 years at Board level. Was the founder MD of Amana Bank, and later Senior Independent Director of Cargills Bank and HNB General Insurance. Has chaired/served on several Board Committees in the areas of Risk Management, Audit, Strategy, Nominations, HR & Remuneration.
He is an IFC certified Board Leadership Trainer and has extensive experience in teaching at State Universities at the postgraduate level.
Well known for the outstanding strategic and operational leadership role he has played in initiating, developing and furthering the practice of interest-free banking in Sri Lanka based on the principles of profit and loss sharing and establishing Amana Bank as the first interest-free licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka in which he was the founding Managing Director and CEO.
MS. ARUNI RAJAKARIER – COUNCIL MEMBER
Aruni counts over 25 years working experience as a finance professional, over 10 years experience as a Board member of public listed companies and is the founder Director of She Consults (Pvt) Ltd., a consulting company specializing ESG Reporting.
She serves on the Boards of Morison Limited and John Keells PLC as an Independent Director and Chairperson of the Audit Committees. She also serves on the Council of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. Prior to this, she served on the Board of NDB Capital Holdings Ltd. (formerly NDB Capital Holdings PLC) as an Independent Non- Executive Director, the Chairperson of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee and the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Investment Committee.
She also served as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of its subsidiary, NDB Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd. She also served as a Consultant to World Bank on projects including the publication Sri Lanka – Report on Observance of Standards & Codes.
A passion for integrity in corporate reporting drives SheConsults of which Aruni is the founding director and has used a business model of allowing professional women to work to their preferred capacity, deploying sound technology platforms enabling working from home. The company commands 30% market share of the ESG Reports submitted to the Colombo Stock Exchange and works with other prestigious institutions on ESG reports and reporting systems as well.
She also served as the founding Chairperson of the Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and also served as a member of the South Asian Federation of Accountants Committee for Women’s Empowerment & Leadership. During her tenure, she launched a Women’s Engagement Forum for female members of the Institute, a Board Ready Women’s Directory and a voluntary framework for gender reporting which has been incorporated into the Institute’s Annual Report Awards framework. She is the recipient of Women in Management Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards 2018/2019, Inspirational Woman and also the Derana Eya Pranama Award in 2020 in recognition of the work done in this field.
A fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Sri Lanka, she served as the Country Manager for ACCA Sri Lanka with additional responsibility for the Maldives and in several senior roles at NDB Bank. Prior to this she served as Finance Director of Lanka Cellular Services (Pvt) Ltd. She trained at Ernst & Young where she served as Senior Manager in both auditing, consultancy and training.
MS. MANOHARI ABEYESEKERA – COUNCIL MEMBER
Manohari Abeyesekera was appointed in January 2020 as an Independent Non-Executive Director/ Chairperson -Audit Committee of the National Savings Bank (NSB), which is Sri Lanka’s largest State Owned Savings Bank and its fully owned subsidiary NSB Fund Management Co . Ltd. She also serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Kapruka Holdings PLC and Council Member of The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors.
Previously, Manohari served the Hayleys Group in multiple leadership roles in her 18 year stint (Year 2002-2020). She was attached to Hayleys PLC, the parent company, and served as the Head – Strategic Business Development until May 2019. She was responsible for the Group’s acquisitions exceeding US $ 200 Mn, listing subsidiaries in the Colombo Stock Exchange and restructuring loss making entities. Manohari was the focal point of contact at Hayleys Group for Embassies, Chambers and UN Global Compact. She also was involved in project financing liaising with multi-lateral development agencies such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and DEG Bank Germany.
In May 2019, Manohari was seconded as the Director – Strategy & Business Development at Fentons Limited, the engineering arm of Hayleys Group. Manohari also served as a Director Hayleys Group Services (Pvt.) Ltd, the Group’s Company Secretarial arm from year 2012- 2020.
Manohari is a Council Member and a Member of the Audit Committee of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. She successfully completed the Board Leadership Program conducted by SLID – IFC in December 2017.
An Alumna of KPMG, Manohari is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA-UK) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. She read for the MBA from University of Colombo topping the batch winning three gold medals – Overall Excellence, Quantitative Techniques and Management Accounting. Her first degree is in Biology (1st Class Honours) from University of Colombo.
A Prizewinner at CIMA Finals- Strategic Financial Management, Manohari was adjudged as CIMA Young Star (Silver) by CIMA Sri Lanka Janashakthi Pinnacle Awards held in 2004.Manohari read for the Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations conducted by the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute, where she was awarded the Vernon Mendis Memorial Award for excellent results in 2018. Manohari had her primary education at Sujatha Vidyalaya Colombo, and secondary education at St. Paul’s Milagiriya.
Voluntary Activities
Manohari was elected by the membership to the CIMA UK Global Council to represent South Asia for a three year term commencing from June 2021. Prior to this , She served as a Committee Member of the CIMA UK Global Member Engagement Committee (GMEC) in 2019/2021.
Manohari was the Chairperson of CIMA Sri Lanka Country Network Panel in 2019, in CIMA’s Centenary Year. Elected to the CIMA SL Board for two terms 2012-2014 & 2015-2017, Manohari served in the MESANA Regional Board in 2017. Manohari also chaired the CIMA Sri Lanka Business Leaders’ Summit in the year 2017.
Manohari also served as the President – MBA Alumni Association University of Colombo during the period 2019/20. She also served as an Executive Committee member in the International Chamber of Commerce (SL) during the years 2015-2019.
Manohari is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Colombo EMBA program.
Executive Education
In March 2019, Manohari was selected to represent Sri Lanka by the US State Department in the Fortune Mentoring Program for female leaders
Manohari had Executive Education at ISB Hyderabad, ADB Manila and BHF Bank Germany. She received the AOTS Scholarship Japan in 2015. In 2014, Manohari was selected for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) by the Dept. of State, USA.
Manohari has received many awards for Women Leadership –Women in Management SL (2012), World Women Leadership Congress -Mumbai (2015) and South Asian Partnership Summit- Dhaka (2017). She has penned articles in CIMA Edge, Daily FT and other journals. Manohari is a Toastmaster, and has spoken at many professional events. She was featured in CIMA Insight “Breaking the glass ceiling in Sri Lanka”.
MR. CHARAKA PERERA - COUNCIL MEMBER
Charaka has a career spanning over 24 years in Automotive, Construction and Pharmaceutical industries. He has management experience in Sales & Marketing, After Sales service, Distribution, Channel Management, Supply chain, Imports & People Management; with hands-on management exposure to finance, HR, legal & IT. He is skilled in building brands to reach market leadership with a proven track record in achieving exponential business growth and has a very high financial acumen. Charaka is currently a Board Director and the Chief Operating Officer of Stafford Motor Co. (Pvt) Ltd. He is a Fellow Member of CIM UK, a Chartered Marketer and has an MBA, from the ICFAI University, India. He holds a Diploma in Finance Management from the University of Wigan & Leigh U.K. & he is a Graduate Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. He is the Senior Vice Chairman of the CMTA (Ceylon Motor Traders Association) elected at its 101st AGM this year. He is a Committee member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce as the CMTA representative. Charaka was an elected Board Director of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region from 2014 to 2019. He is a past Leo Club President and a Past Leo District President. He is a member of the Lions Clubs International and is a past Lions Club President and a Past Cabinet Member.
MR. Rolf Blaser- COUNCIL MEMBER
Rolf Blaser is an experienced Leader in a variety of Industries such as Healthcare, Retail, FMCG
and Consumer Electronics. His accumulated work experience in Switzerland, Germany, France,
Benelux and since 2008 in Asia, makes him an expert in cultural diversity. Routed in Sales,
Marketing and Retail he has become a successful leader with proven track record.
After his successful setup of the Retail Operation in the Bangalore International Airport, which
became the best performing Travel Retailer in India (per passenger spent ratio), Rolf moved to
Delhi in 2012, where he was given the opportunity as Managing Director – Safilo India Pvt. Ltd.,
to accelerate the business of luxury brands in the Eyewear industry such as Gucci, Dior, Fendi,
Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss, Marc Jacobs amongst many other. Rolf proposed and was mandated
to triple the sales with a two-year Tiger-Plan.
Given this extraordinary track record for 10 years in India, many international companies were
attracted by his skills and experience. He found his destiny with A. Baur & Co. (Pvt.) Ltd. as
Group Managing Director / CEO in a 125-year-old Swiss company, established in 1897 in
Colombo – Sri Lanka. Baurs, as they are better known, employs over 800 people in the various
segments of the Company – Agriculture, Healthcare and Consumer Goods form the core
divisions, next to Industrial Raw Materials, Machinery, Airlines and Education.
Rolf Blaser went through the traditional Swiss Apprenticeship education system, but never
stopped learning. He added an Economist SEBA from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences
(Switzerland) and an Executive MBA from University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) degree to his
education palmarès. Recently he concluded the High Performance Boards program from IMD
Lausanne that brings together world-class thought leadership and global best practices in a
systematic way to help boards reach their full potential.
Rolf is also entrusted with Board Membership of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. He further
serves on the Advisory Board of the Luxury Connect Business School India and the International
Advisory Board of the Genesis Foundation India. In early 2021 Rolf was elected to the Council of
the Swiss Abroad (CSA), as one of total 140 Delegates of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad
(OSA), the “Parliament” of the “Fifth Switzerland”. Rolf is representing 24 countries in the OSA.
Since September 2021 Rolf is tasked by The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors to Chair the CEOs
Forum. Rolf is also active member in the Rotary Club to provide community service, promote
integrity, and advance goodwill, peace, and understanding.
MS. Chathuri Munaweera – COUNCIL MEMBER
Chathuri is the Chief Executive Officer / Executive Director / Principal Officer of AIA Insurance Lanka
Limited (AIA Sri Lanka). Her appointment as CEO was effective from 01 May 2022.
She was most recently the Director Legal & Chief of Operations of AIA Sri Lanka responsible for Life Operations,
Corporate Law, Company Secretarial and External Relations. She has been a member of the Executive
Committee of the Company since 2006, playing a lead role in strategic planning and business KPI achievements.
She was also previously the Company’s Chief HR Officer and its Chief Compliance Officer.
Chathuri led the complex corporate restructuring of AIA Sri Lanka from a composite to a Life Company and
ultimately to become a wholly owned subsidiary of AIA Group. She was responsible for the digital and process
transformation of AIA Sri Lanka’s end to end customer journey, aligning to customer and advisor support which
was recognised with several ‘Most Improved’ Country Awards within AIA Group (2021). She was responsible
for operational changes which saw premium collections via digital and bank-led non-cash collection methods,
thus improving both new business sales efficiency and the quality of the in-force business.
Chathuri is a lawyer with Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in law and holds, ‘ICA International Diploma in
Compliance (Graduate)’, International Compliance Association, University of Manchester, Manchester Business
School, United Kingdom. Chathuri was recently recognised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as
one of 16 trailblazers who are driving gender equality in Sri Lanka. She was recognized for AIA Sri Lanka’s
efforts in creating a gender smart workplace while working towards gender parity and increased female
participation.
Chathuri is the first Sri Lankan CEO appointed by AIA Group Hong Kong to lead its Sri Lankan operations and
is also the Company’s first female CEO.
About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent
publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and
subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR (5), Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei
and Macau SAR (6), and a 49 per cent joint venture in India. The business that is now AIA was first established
2 of 2
in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance
premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$340 billion as
of 31 December 2021. AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range
of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group
also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive
network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 39 million
individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes. AIA Group Limited is
listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with
American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).
MR. Gihan Cooray - COUNCIL MEMBER
Gihan Cooray was appointed as Group Finance Director of JKH on January 1st 2018. He is the Chairperson of Nations Trust Bank PLC and is an Executive Director of JKH since November 2016. Mr. Cooray holds an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, Houston, Texas. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a Certified Management Accountant of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia and a Diploma holder in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. He serves as a Member of the Sub-Committee on Economic, Fiscal and Policy Planning of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Arjuna Herath – COUNCIL MEMBER
Arjuna recently retired from Ernst & Young (EY) where he was a Senior Partner and Head of Consulting for Sri Lanka and Maldives. In his career preceding Ernst & Young, he was Marketing Development Manager at Ceylon Tobacco Company and Director Corporate Finance at Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka.
Arjuna served as a Board Member of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board and as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. He also Served as a member of the Company Law Advisory Commission. At present he is the Chairman of the Data Protection Authority of Sri Lanka, Chairman of Synapsys Limited (Fully Owned Subsidiary of DFCC Bank), and a Director of Colombo Stock Exchange, Central Depository Services (Pvt.) Ltd., Senkadagala Finance PLC, Durdans Medical and Surgical Hospital (Pvt) Ltd. And Cargills Bank.
Arjuna was selected as one of the 20 leading men and women from our world of business in 2014 by Lanka Monthly Digest in its fifth edition of captains of commerce & industry in Sri Lanka in recognition of his outstanding work for the corporate sector in the country.
Arjuna is a distinguished senior Chartered Accountant and is a Past President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He was actively involved in the international fora in the field of accounting and is a Past President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants and was a Board Member of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Accountants.
He is the first Sri Lankan to Chair a Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the apex body of the accounting profession, and was the Chair of the Professional Accountancy Organisation Development Committee of the IFAC.
He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and is a Chartered Global Management Accountant with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colombo, MBA from the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom and a Master of Arts in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo.