The Board of Directors comprises directors with extensive experience and varied financial, management and entrepreneurial skills as this facilitates understanding of the micro and macro economy in which the Company and the Group operate, and also of the several industries into which the Company and Group are diversifying.
Mr. Gunawardena joined LOLC in 2004 and counts over 30 years of experience as a Lawyer. He has held a number of important positions in the State, including the office of State Counsel attached to the Attorney General’s Department, the Office of Director - Legal & Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, and was involved in setting up the Consumer Affairs Authority as its first Director General.
He serves on the Boards of Hatton National Bank & Gal Oya Plantations Ltd, as well as a number of local and overseas subsidiaries within the LOLC Group as given below:
Non-Executive Chairman
LOLC Corporate Services Pvt Ltd
Gal Oya Holdings (Pvt) Ltd
Non-Executive Director
Diriya Investments (Pvt) Ltd
Browns Engineering and Construction (Pvt) Ltd
LOLC Securities Ltd
LOLC Motors Ltd
Ceylon Real Estate Holdings (Pvt) Ltd
Colombo Marina Development (Pvt) Ltd
Marina Hotel Holdings (Pvt) Ltd
Maturata Plantations Ltd
Grey Reach Investment Ltd
Browns Holdings Ltd
Iconic Trust (Pvt) Ltd
NPH Investment (Pvt) Ltd
Bodufaru Beach Resorts (Pvt) Ltd
Mrs. Kalsha Amarasinghe holds an Honours Degree in Economics and has an outstanding vision for investments.
Mrs. Amarasinghe serves on the Boards and subsidiaries of LOLC Holdings PLC and Brown & Company PLC including LOLC General Insurance Limited, Palm Garden Hotels PLC, Eden Hotel Lanka PLC, Browns Investments PLC, Serendib Hotels PLC, Hotel Sigiriya PLC, Dolphin Hotels PLC, Riverina Resorts (Pvt) Ltd, Green Paradise (Pvt) Ltd, P L Resorts Ltd, Browns Holdings Ltd, Sanctuary Resorts Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Serendib Leisure Management Ltd.
She has extensive experience in financial management and corporate governance.
Mrs. Sunjeevani Kotakadeniya was appointed to the Board on 30th June 2019. She is the Chief Financial Officer of the LOLC Group, overseeing the Group’s local and international businesses’ finance function.
She is a senior finance professional with three decades of experience in financial management and has extensive experience in strategic development, investment portfolio management, project management, mergers and acquisitions, IT and administration disciplines holding senior positions in Financial Services, Insurance, Leisure, Construction, Trading, Renewable Energy, Plantations, and Manufacturing sectors. Sunjeevani is a catalyst in restructuring and change management, mergers and acquisitions, and project management.
Her professional qualifications include; FCMA (UK), CGMA (USA), MBA [University of Colombo]. She also serves on a number of local overseas subsidiaries within the LOLC Group.
Apart from two years spent overseas in Postgraduate studies, Mr. W. R. A. Dharmaratne has an unbroken service record at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (‘CBSL’) from 1990. While at the CBSL he worked in several different departments including Economic Research, Currency, Management Audit, Financial Sector Research, and Human Resources.
Mr. Dharmaratne holds an MA in Economics from the University of Essex, UK, a BA in Development Studies (Special) Statistics from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic Development from the University of Colombo, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Technology from the University of Colombo.
Mr. Indrajith Wijesiriwardana is an international expert in Banking and Financial Services including credit guarantees and insurance. He has over three decades of global experience from over thirty countries, working primarily with international financing agencies, governments, and financial institutions. His key areas of experience include Microfinance and SME Finance (MSME) and Capacity Building addressing demand and supply side challenges and improving access to finance. Mr. Wijesiriwardana is skilled and experienced in policy development, strategy and business design, developing inclusive financial systems, developing capacity in financial institutions focusing on MSME, institutional transformations and product design, and process improvements. He is also involved in Human Resource development in the financial sectors, internationally.
He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo, and a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics degree from the University of Colombo, Colombo. He is also a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) from the Association of International Professional Accountants (a joint venture of CIMA (UK) and AICPA (US)) and a Fellow Chartered Manager (FCMI) of the Chartered Institute of Management (UK). He has received skills training in Sustainable Finance, relating to Climate Change, Gender issues, and Renewable Energy.
Mr. Indrajith Wijesiriwardana serves as an Independent BOD member of LOLC (Cambodia) Plc with effect from 1st January 2015.
Mr. H A Karunaratne was attached to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka from 1986 and retired as a Deputy Governor - Financial System Stability in December 2020. He was appointed to the Board of LOLC General Insurance PLC on 20th October 2023.
He is currently serving as a member of the Board Risk-Oversight Committee of the Central Bank as well as a Member of the Investments Committee of Capital Alliance Investments Limited.
His academic qualifications include a BSc Business Administration - Second Class Upper Division and an MA in Economics from Ohio University, USA. He is also a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Sri Lanka, and has completed a number of modules of the Capital Market Financial Advisory Services Examination, Singapore. He also held a Representative’s Licence issued by the Monetary Authority, Singapore, while working in capital markets in Singapore.
Mr. Ishara Nanayakkara is a prominent entrepreneur serving on the Boards of many corporates and conglomerates in the region. He initially ventured into the arena of financial services with a strategic investment in Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC and was appointed to its Board in 2002. Today, he is the Deputy Chairman of LOLC and the Executive Deputy Chairman of LOLC Finance PLC (previously known as Lanka ORIX Finance Company PLC), holding directorships in many of its subsidiaries and associate companies.
Backed by over a decade of professional experience in the industry, Mr. Nanayakkara holds the role of Chairman of Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s leading financial service providers for over 27 years, as well as LOLC Life Assurance Limited. He is also the Deputy Chairman of Seylan Bank PLC, a premier commercial bank in the country. His vision to cater to the entire value chain of the finance sector manifested in the development of Microfinance, Islamic Finance, Factoring through LOLC Factors, LOLC Life & General Insurance Companies and Stock Broking through LOLC Securities Ltd.
Leveraging LOLC Group’s expertise in the SME sector, the expansion into the Micro sector was spearheaded by Mr. Nanayakkara, who is the Chairman of their Micro Credit Companies: LOLC Micro Credit Ltd, the only private sector microfinance institution in the country with foreign equity, PRASAC, the largest microfinance Company in Cambodia and BRAC Lanka Finance PLC. Mr. Nanayakkara’s interest in microfinance lead to the inauguration of LOLC Myanmar Micro Finance Company Ltd, a green field investment in Myanmar in which he was the founding Chairman, and currently serves as a Director. His proficiency in microfinance in the region is further demonstrated by his involvement at strategic level in LOLC Cambodia Ltd (Previously known as Thaneakea Phum Ltd); the 5th largest microfinance company in Cambodia. He was also recently appointed as a Director in LOLC International Private Limited.
Mr. Nanayakkara’s motivation to expand into various growth peripheries is further illustrated through his role as the Executive Chairman of Brown & Company PLC and Browns Investments PLC. Browns Group is a renowned conglomerate with leading market position in trade, leisure, power generation, healthcare, manufacturing, consumer appliances and agriculture equipment. Through strategic investments, he is committed to catalysing development in the growth sectors of the Sri Lankan economy such as construction. Mr Nanayakkara’s involvement in the Boards of AgStar Fertilizers PLC, Associated Battery Manufacturers (Cey) Ltd and Sierra Constructions Ltd. reflects this business philosophy.
Endorsing his entrepreneurial spirit, Mr. Ishara Nanayakkara received the prestigious ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) in 2012. He holds a Diploma in Business Accounting from Australia.
Mrs. Kalsha Amarasinghe was appointed to the Board in August 2002. She holds an Honours Degree in Economics.
She serves on the Boards of Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC, LOLC Finance PLC, LOLC Micro Credit Ltd, LOLC Life Assurance Ltd, Palm Garden Hotels PLC and Eden Hotel Lanka PLC. She also serves as a Director on the Boards of Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC, Brown & Company PLC, Browns Investments PLC, Riverina Resorts (Pvt) Ltd, Browns Hydro Power PLC and Browns Capital PLC.