BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Krishan Balendra
Member of the Board since January 2019
Krishan Balendra is the Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC. He is a Director of the Ceylon Chamber Commerce and the Hon. Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka. He is a former Chairman of Nations Trust Bank and the Colombo Stock Exchange. He started his career at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong, in investment banking, focusing primarily on equity capital markets. He holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of London and an MBA from INSEAD.
Krishan Balendra is the Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC. He is a Director of the Ceylon Chamber Commerce and the Hon. Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka. He is a former Chairman of Nations Trust Bank and the Colombo Stock Exchange. He started his career at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong, in investment banking, focusing primarily on equity capital markets. He holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of London and an MBA from INSEAD.
Krishan Balendra
Chairperson (NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Suresh Rajendra
Member of the Board since August 2011
Suresh has over 30 years of experience in the fields of Finance, Property Development and Real Estate Management, Travel & Tourism, and Business Development acquired both in Sri Lanka and overseas. Prior to joining the JKH Group, he was the Head of Commercial and Business Development for NRMA Motoring and Services in Sydney, Australia and Director/General Manager of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, U.K. Suresh serves as a Director of Asian Hotels & Properties PLC, Trans Asia Hotels PLC and John Keells Hotels PLC. Suresh is a member of the Group Executive Committee and President of the Leisure Group of the John Keells Group. He is also responsible for both John Keells Information Technology (Pvt) Limited and John Keells Stockbrokers. Further he serves as a Director in many unlisted companies of the John Keells Group.
Suresh has over 30 years of experience in the fields of Finance, Property Development and Real Estate Management, Travel & Tourism, and Business Development acquired both in Sri Lanka and overseas. Prior to joining the JKH Group, he was the Head of Commercial and Business Development for NRMA Motoring and Services in Sydney, Australia and Director/General Manager of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, U.K. Suresh serves as a Director of Asian Hotels & Properties PLC, Trans Asia Hotels PLC and John Keells Hotels PLC. Suresh is a member of the Group Executive Committee and President of the Leisure Group of the John Keells Group. He is also responsible for both John Keells Information Technology (Pvt) Limited and John Keells Stockbrokers. Further he serves as a Director in many unlisted companies of the John Keells Group.
Suresh Rajendra
NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dumith Fernando
Member to the Board since August 2018
Dumith Fernando is the Chairman of Asia Securities (Pvt) Ltd, a leading independent Investment Banking, Research, and Stock Broking firm in Sri Lanka. He has over two decades’ experience in international Investment Banking, based in New York and Hong Kong, with the U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase & Co, and the Swiss Bank Credit Suisse AG., until 2013. He was Managing Director and Group Chief Operating Officer for the Asia Pacific region at Credit Suisse – a business with over USD 2.5 billion in revenues across 12 countries, and a member of that firm’s Global Leadership Council. Dumith is a Director of the Colombo Stock Exchange and Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC. He is a Senior Advisor to Tybourne Capital Management (in Hong Kong), a leading Asia-based investment management firm, and non-executive Chairman of several start-up companies. He holds a B.A. (Honors) in Physics & Economics from Middlebury College in the U.S. and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dumith Fernando is the Chairman of Asia Securities (Pvt) Ltd, a leading independent Investment Banking, Research, and Stock Broking firm in Sri Lanka. He has over two decades’ experience in international Investment Banking, based in New York and Hong Kong, with the U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase & Co, and the Swiss Bank Credit Suisse AG., until 2013. He was Managing Director and Group Chief Operating Officer for the Asia Pacific region at Credit Suisse – a business with over USD 2.5 billion in revenues across 12 countries, and a member of that firm’s Global Leadership Council. Dumith is a Director of the Colombo Stock Exchange and Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC. He is a Senior Advisor to Tybourne Capital Management (in Hong Kong), a leading Asia-based investment management firm, and non-executive Chairman of several start-up companies. He holds a B.A. (Honors) in Physics & Economics from Middlebury College in the U.S. and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dumith Fernando
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Stephen Appleyard
Member of the Board since January 2019
Stephen Anthony is currently the Head of Distribution AXA Asia Markets (Life and Non-Life Insurance). He has over 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry across Europe, the U.S., and Asia in CEO and Regional CEO roles at SCB Life (Thailand), AIA (Hong Kong), Allianz (Ayudhya Allianz C.P., Thailand), American International Group (Europe, U.S., and Asia). He has extensive experience in strategy, distribution, marketing, finance, and operational transformation. Stephen has served as a Consultant to AXA Regional Office (Hong Kong), Direct Money (Vietnam), and an Advisor to many Fintech companies. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Sheffield Hallam University and an MBA from the University of Manchester.
Stephen Anthony is currently the Head of Distribution AXA Asia Markets (Life and Non-Life Insurance). He has over 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry across Europe, the U.S., and Asia in CEO and Regional CEO roles at SCB Life (Thailand), AIA (Hong Kong), Allianz (Ayudhya Allianz C.P., Thailand), American International Group (Europe, U.S., and Asia). He has extensive experience in strategy, distribution, marketing, finance, and operational transformation. Stephen has served as a Consultant to AXA Regional Office (Hong Kong), Direct Money (Vietnam), and an Advisor to many Fintech companies. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Sheffield Hallam University and an MBA from the University of Manchester.
Stephen Appleyard
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Pasan Thamida Wanigasekara
Member of the Board since April 2023
Pasan Thamida Wanigasekara is a multi-disciplined corporate leader with broad international exposure in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, across a wide range of topics including corporate strategy, M&A, strategic marketing & business development, operation optimization, digitization, and legal.
He was the Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (Invest Sri Lanka) until January 2022, and since then holds Board positions in several blue-chip Corporates operating in Finance, Leisure, Automobiles, Agriculture, R&D, Sustainable Energy, Manufacturing sectors.
Earlier on in his corporate career, he was Director, Asia Pacific Business at a Moody’s Corporation subsidiary. Since his stint at Moody’s, he was engaged as a Consultant to several Fortune 500 companies and Asia based PE Funds on investment analysis, M&A, and operations optimization, while practicing as an Attorney-at-Law.
He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant, a Chartered Financial Accountant, a Chartered Marketer, as well as an Attorney-at-Law.
Pasan Thamida Wanigasekara is a multi-disciplined corporate leader with broad international exposure in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, across a wide range of topics including corporate strategy, M&A, strategic marketing & business development, operation optimization, digitization, and legal.
He was the Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (Invest Sri Lanka) until January 2022, and since then holds Board positions in several blue-chip Corporates operating in Finance, Leisure, Automobiles, Agriculture, R&D, Sustainable Energy, Manufacturing sectors.
Earlier on in his corporate career, he was Director, Asia Pacific Business at a Moody’s Corporation subsidiary. Since his stint at Moody’s, he was engaged as a Consultant to several Fortune 500 companies and Asia based PE Funds on investment analysis, M&A, and operations optimization, while practicing as an Attorney-at-Law.
He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant, a Chartered Financial Accountant, a Chartered Marketer, as well as an Attorney-at-Law.
Pasan Thamida Wanigasekara
INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR