Board of Directors

Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, PC

Independent Non- Executive Director /Chairman

Master- of- Laws (LL.M) University of London (Queen Mary College)

Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, PC was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on 26.02.2024 as an Independent Non- Executive Director.

Upon being called to the Bar in 1982, joined the Attorney General’s Department in 1983 as a State Counsel and served there for thirty years. During his tenor at the Attorney General’s Department he rose to the position of Additional Solicitor General in 2013 and in the same year, he was conferred ‘silk’ and appointed as a President’s Counsel. In 1989, he was enrolled as a solicitor of England and Wales.

He worked for the United Nations as a Prosecutor in East Timor, prosecuting before the Serious Crimes Panel in war related crimes in 2001.  In the year 2015, was sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji Islands and preside in the Supreme Court of Fiji as a non-resident judge.

He functioned both as an examiner and lecturer in Law of Evidence at the Sri Lanka Law College from 2005 up until he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in 2013. Also functioned as a visiting lecturer/examiner at the Kothalawela Defence University in International Humanitarian Law.

Whilst at the Attorney General’s Department, he served as a legal consultant to both, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka as well as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Financial Intelligence Unit). During his tenure, in addition to performing the duties as a judge of the Supreme Court, he functioned as a member of the Judicial Service Commission, and was a Member of the Board of Management of the Judges Training Institute.

He also was a member of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education.

Appointed by the Cabinet, since January 2024, Justice Aluwihare functions as the Chairman of the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering of Terrorism Task Force for monitoring and reporting on the progress of the implementation of stakeholder- specific Action Plans.
 

Mr Ramesh J Jayasekara

Director / Chief Executive Officer

BCom (First Class-Honours) [University of Colombo], ACA (Sri Lanka), ACIM (UK), ACCA (UK), ACMA (Sri Lanka)

Mr Ramesh Jayasekara was appointed as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of Seylan Bank PLC on 1st May 2023.  He was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Bank prior to his appointment as the Director/Chief Executive Officer.  

Mr Jayasekara joined Seylan Bank in 2011 as the Chief Financial Officer and was appointed as the Chief Risk Officer in 2016. He was the Deputy General Manager – Corporate Banking of the Bank from 2018 to 2019. In January 2020, he was promoted to the grade of Senior Deputy General Manager.  In January 2021, he was made the Chief Operating Officer of the Bank and in terms of succession was appointed the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in September 2022.  Mr Ramesh Jayasekara is also the Chairman of Seylan Developments PLC. 

Prior to joining Seylan Bank PLC, he was the Deputy Regional Financial Controller of the French Banking giant BNP Paribas, Middle East Region – (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Cyprus) based in Bahrain. He has also worked at HSBC Sri Lanka as Resident Manager – Finance & Planning and at KPMG Sri Lanka as an Audit Manager. 

He has over 20 years of experience in Banking, Strategic Planning, Financial Management, Risk and Audit both locally and internationally. 
 

Ms Sandya K Salgado

Independent Director

MBA (International) Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia BA(English, French, Linguistics) University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka , MCIM-UK

Mrs Sandya Salgado was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on 1st December 2016 as an Independent Director.

She is a specialist in Strategic Communications and Sustainable Business Management with over thirty years of management experience in both corporate and development sectors. She was also trained at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, in Strategic Communications. She was handpicked by Ogilvy Worldwide to introduce the concept of Brand Activation to Sri Lanka and as the CEO of Ogilvy Action, she launched, led and managed this company for twelve years. As a professional marketer, Mrs Salgado has helped, build and manage iconic brands and authored ground breaking marketing strategies during her tenure in the corporate sector. During this period, she worked extensively in the Financial and Banking sectors managing both local and international banking and financial brands. She was awarded the title “Marketer of the Year” in 2001 for her unique contribution to marketing through the concept of Brand Activation and was also awarded ‘Zonta Woman of Achievement” in 2006 in recognition of her contribution to socially responsible marketing communications in the country.

Moving into the development sector, Mrs Salgado has served as the Senior Communications Specialist at the World Bank, providing advice and guidance to manage the image and reputation of the World Bank and the World Bank funded projects in Sri Lanka and Maldives. She held this position until she resigned in 2015. Mrs Salgado is the Managing Partner of her consulting company Good Karma, through which she promotes the concept of sustainable business management. Fulfilling her social obligations, she serves as a member of the board of management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, as a board member of Lebara Foundation, council member of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Secretary of the International Film Producers’ Association of Sri Lanka.

Mr D M D Krishan Thilakaratne

Non-Executive Director

AIB (Sri Lanka)

Mr Krishan Thilakaratne was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on 1st October 2018 as a Non-Executive Director. Prior to this appointment, Mr Thilakaratne functioned as the Alternate Director to Non-Executive Director, Mr I C Nanayakkara until his resignation on 31st August 2018. 

Mr Thilakaratne is the Director/CEO of Commercial Leasing and Finance PLC and is a Member of the Senior Management Team of LOLC PLC.   

Mr Thilakaratne serves on the Boards of Prasac Micro Finance Cambodia and Commercial Insurance Brokers (Pvt) Ltd, which is the largest insurance brokering company in Sri Lanka. He also serves as a Director of the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) and is the Chairman of the Finance Houses Association of Sri Lanka, the apex body for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) in Sri Lanka. 

Mr Thilakaratne holds an Associate membership of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (AIB). He has also followed a Strategic Leadership Training Programme in Micro Finance at the Harvard Business School, USA. Mr Thilakaratne counts over 25 years of experience in management, credit, channel management, marketing, factoring, portfolio management and Islamic finance. 

Mr D M Rupasinghe

Independent Director

BA (Hons) Economics [University of Kelaniya], MA Economics [Colorado State University-Fort Collins, USA]

Mr D M Rupasinghe was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on  1st October 2021 as an Independent Non-Executive Director.  

Mr Rupasinghe was the former Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (Central Bank) and Head/Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit of Sri Lanka ((FIU-Sri Lanka) of the Central Bank.  He has completed several post-graduate assignments/trainings at Harvard University, Western Australia University and National University of Singapore.

Mr Rupasinghe retired from Central Bank in September 2020 after many years of distinguished service having held many senior positions, which included the position of Additional Director of the FIU-Sri Lanka, Superintendent of the Public Debt Department, Controller of Exchange, as a Senior Economist in the Economic Research Department and as Director of many important divisions/departments of the Central Bank. Mr Rupasinghe also has exposure in the government sector as well as the private sector, having served at some of the government and private sector institutions.

Mr Rupasinghe is a recognized expert in finance/economics and in particular, in the areas of anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT).  
 

Mr Rupasinghe has also held many important different positions at various important  committees and institutions in Sri Lanka during his career, including as a member of the Special Presidential Task Force on Recovery of State Assets of Government of Sri Lanka, a member of the Board and the Audit Committee of the Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka, Working Group member on International Trade Facilitation at the WTO and Sri Lanka Customs, an advisor to the Working Group to assess and report on impact of LTTE international Affairs and their implications for National Security-Ministry of Defense, a member of the Steering Committee on Aging Study-Ministry of Health, a member of the Technical Evaluation Committee on study of Economic Significant of Coastal Region- Coast Conservation Department, a member of the Steering Committee on National Health Account-Ministry of Health, a member of the Committee on BIMSTEC Business Forum- Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, a member of the Steering Committee of the Plantation Sector Reform Project- Ministry of Plantation Industries.

Mr Rupasinghe was the Country Researcher for Research Projects on “Socio-economic Impacts of Hydro-Metrological Disasters”, UN-ESCAP- Thailand and “The impact and Policy Response of Oil Price Shocks in Sri Lanka” SEACEN Centre, Malaysia. He also worked closely with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the regional FATF Secretariats in particular with Asia Pacific Group of Money Laundering (APG) for over a decade and served as a Co-chair of Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) and its Governing Committee Member thereafter. He also served as Egmont Group (of Financial Intelligence Units) Governance Committee Member and Asia Pacific Regional Representative until his retirement from the Central Bank in 2020.
 

Mr L H A Lakshman Silva

Independent Director

BCom (Sp.) Degree [University of Kelaniya], MBA [Postgraduate Institute of Management of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura]

Mr L H A Lakshman Silva was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on  18th July 2022 as an Independent Non-Executive Director.  

Mr Lakshman Silva was the Director/Chief Executive Officer of DFCC Bank PLC from August 2017 to December 2021 until his retirement from the Bank. 

He started the professional career with the Department of Inland Revenue of Sri Lanka and joined the DFCC Banking Group in 1987. He was seconded to the service of DFCC Vardhana Bank in 2003 and functioned as the Chief Operating Officer until appointment as the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director in January 2010. He held the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Director of DFCC Bank PLC from October 2015 until August 2017.

Until his retirement from DFCC Bank PLC in December 2021, he held the position of Chairman of DFCC Consulting (Pvt) Limited and Synapsys Limited (subsidiary companies of DFCC Bank PLC) and the Chairman of Lanka Financial Services Bureau Limited as well as Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (Guarantee) Limited. He held the positions of Chairman of Acuity Partners (Pvt) Limited, the joint venture company of DFCC Bank PLC and Chairman of Lanka Ventures Limited and LVL Energy Fund PLC. He also served as a Director of Lanka Clear (Pvt) Ltd.

Mr Lakshman Silva was a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and Board of Management of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority.

At present he holds the positions of Chairman of Lanka Industrial Estates Limited and Chairman of Panasian Power PLC and its subsidiary companies. He also serves as a member of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. He is a member and a Past President of the Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka.
 

Mrs V G S Sunjeevani Kotakadeniya

Non-Executive Director

FCMA(UK), CGMA(USA), MBA(Col.)

Mrs Sunjeevani Kotakadeniya was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on 17th August 2022 as a Non-Executive Director. Prior to this appointment, Mrs Kotakadeniya functioned as the Alternate Director to Mr W D K Jayawardena from 26th June 2020 until his retirement on 31st July 2022. 

Mrs Sunjeevani Kotakadeniya is the Chief Financial Officer of the LOLC Group, overseeing the Group’s finance function locally and internationally. She holds directorships of the LOLC Group companies and plays a key role in the overall organizational management of Browns Investments PLC and its subsidiaries. 

Mrs Kotakadeniya possesses over thirty three years’ experience in the fields of finance and management, having held key positions in many leading organizations in insurance, finance, leasing, factoring, fund management, unit trusts administrations and stock broking. Her experience as a senior finance professional includes organizations engaged in trading, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and plantations, leisure and IT services industries representing the non-financial sector. Mrs Kotakadeniya has been a catalyst in corporate restructuring related matters and change management, mergers and acquisitions, and project management.
 
 

Mrs Averil A Ludowyke

Independent Director

FCA (CA Sri Lanka), FCMA (UK)

Mrs Averil Ludowyke was appointed to the Board of Seylan Bank PLC on 17th August 2022 as an Independent Director.

She counts over 26 years of experience at Ernst & Young and has served as a Partner from 2011 to 2022. 

Mrs Ludowyke was lead Audit Partner at Ernst & Young, of several groups of companies and she launched and led forensics and integrity services of the firm. Her clients included banks and finance companies, and companies engaged in retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction, real estate, shipping and logistics, leisure, plantations and development. 

She also counts 12 years of senior level experience in finance and accounting in the manufacturing sector, and in a relief and development organization. 

Mrs Ludowyke has been a resource person for the Director Certification Program of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors, and the Certificate Course on Forensic Auditing of CA Sri Lanka. She has also conducted several public seminars with the CIMA, the Ministry of Public Enterprise Development, National Chamber of Commerce, ACCA, AAT, CMA and has been a panelist/presenter at the ACAMS regional conference of the Indian subcontinent, the annual conference of the Institute of Internal Auditors and at programs conducted by the University of Kelaniya.