Board Members

Mr. Damith Pallewatte is the Acting CEO of Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), who counts 29 years of experience in the banking sector and held many senior positions with 03 leading local banks. Previously held the positions of Deputy General Manager Risk/Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at HNB. Prior to joining HNB he served as the Chief Risk Officer of Nations Trust Bank PLC.

Mr Pallewatte holds an MBA from Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura and earned his B.Sc. Management (Hons) degree from University of London, London School of Economics. Mr Pallewatte has been admitted as a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) by Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and a holder of “Sustainability and Climate Risk”(SCR) certificate from GARP. He is also an ACI Operations Certificate Holder from Financial Markets Association, France, a fellow Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (FCMA) and Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA).

Mr. Ajitha Wijetunge is a Marine Engineer and also a Ballistic Engineer by profession and an entrepreneur. He is the inventor and licensed to be the sole manufacturer of bullet proof jackets, body armours, ballistic helmets, de-mining kits and vehicle armours using highly specialized anti-ballistic composite materials with indigenous technology.

Mr. Wijetunge is the Chairman of Dinima High Performance Materials (Private) Limited and he serves as a Director on the Boards of Harsha International (Private) Limited and Sawam Holdings (Pte) Ltd.

Mr. Ray Abeywardena is the Managing Director/Group CEO of Acuity Partners (Private) Limited. He has been associated with Sri Lanka’s capital markets for over 38 years, primarily as a Stockbroker and since 2009 as an Investment Banker. Prior to being appointed as Group CEO/MD of Acuity Partners (Private) Limited, Mr. Abeywardena served as the CEO/MD of Acuity Stockbrokers (Pvt) Ltd from 2001 to end 2008. From 1998-2000, he functioned as the Managing Director of Forbes ABN Amro Securities.

Mr. Abeywardena is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, (UK) and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wales.

Mr. Dassanayake is the Vice President – Strategic Planning and Subsidiaries of DFCC Bank PLC. He counts over 20 years of experience in banking having served DFCC Bank and Lankaputhra Development Bank.

Mr. Dassanayake holds an MBA from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura (PIM) and BSc Accountancy (Special) degree also from the same University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (FCA) and Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA).

Mr. Mahal Wijetunge is a director of Harsha International (Private) Limited, S&N Power Kithulgala Mini Hydro (Private) limited, Rivolka Energy (Private) Limited and Swam Holdings (Pte) Ltd, BVI.

He holds a Diploma in Law from University College London and LLB (Hons) Degree from the University of Hertfordshire.

Mr. Thimal Perera is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DFCC Bank PLC. He functioned as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Bank prior to his appointment as the CEO and was appointed to the DFCC Board in July 2019.

He has held several senior positions in the banking sector and has over three decades of experience in the financial services and banking sector, both locally and internationally having been with the HSBC Group, both in Sri Lanka and overseas for almost 20 years. He has also worked at Commercial Bank of Qatar and Barclays Bank PLC and was a DGM at HNB prior to joining DFCC.

Mr. Perera is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a passed finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).

Mr. Chandana Dharmawardana functions as consultant to Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Limited since January 2014. Prior to that he was attached to DFCC Bank PLC for a period of 27 years from 1986 to 2013 and at the time of retirement held the position of Vice President, Corporate Banking. Between the period 1980-1986 he was employed at Sri Lanka Ports Authority as a Mechanical Engineer.

Mr. Dharmawardana is a BSc Eng of the University of Moratuwa. He is a member of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka and a Chartered Engineer. He is also an Associate in Development Banking of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific.

Mr Rajive Dissanayake counts nearly two decades of experience covering banking sector and capital markets. He currently serves as the Deputy General Manager – SME & Micro Finance of Hatton National Bank PLC.

Mr Dissanayake is a CFA Charter holder, a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Colombo.

Mr. Kekulawala counts over 30 years in the banking profession. He has held senior positions at Hatton National Bank PLC and played a strategic role in the diversification of HNB from commercial banking to investment banking, venture capital, stock brokering and life/general insurance. Mr. Kekulawala served as the lead consultant and was responsible for setting up a Commercial Banking Operation in the Solomon Islands. He also functioned as the inaugural CEO of the Bank. He presently serves on the Boards of several public companies.

Mr. Kekulawala is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants UK and Sri Lanka, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in England and has an MBA from the University of Manchester.

Mr. Kusal Jayawardana is presently the Deputy Managing Director of Alliance Finance Co. PLC. He counts over 25 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance, investment management and financial services in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Some of his key previous appointments include Managing Director/CEO of NDB Capital Limited, Bangladesh and Chief Operating Office of NDB Capital Holdings Limited.

Mr Jayawardana is a Chartered Financial Analyst, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Chartered Global Management Accountants. He was also an Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – UK. He holds an MBA from the Open University of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning, Canada.