BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lankem Board members represent an unparalleled range of experience, skills, and knowledge. They provide leadership and guidance to support strategic priorities, with consideration to the Group’s performance. Our Board members’ biographies illustrate the contribution of each Director with their individual experiences.
Chairman
Mr. S. D. R. Arudpragasam joined the Board in 1989, was appointed Deputy Chairman in 1990 and as the Chairman on 1st October 2017. He serves as Chairman of several subsidiaries of The Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC including Chairman/Managing Director of E.B. Creasy & Company PLC. He also holds the position of Deputy Chairman of The Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC in addition to serving on the Boards of other Companies within the CFLB Group.
Deputy Chairman
Mr. A. Hettiarachchy was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2010 and was appointed Deputy Chairman on 1st October 2017. He is a Chartered Engineer and is the Director/ Chief of Research and Engineering Systems-Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology. He is Chairman of the Board of ISL Services Limited, Chairman of LOLC Advanced Technologies (Private) Limited and Board Member of Central Industries PLC and serves as the Chairman of its Audit Committee. He has served on the Boards of Richard Pieris Arpico Finance Ltd, Hayleys PLC and functioned as Managing Director on the Boards of Haycarb PLC, Recogen Limited and Puritas Limited and also served on several other subsidiaries of Haycarb PLC and Hayleys PLC both in Sri Lanka and Overseas.
Group Managing Director
Mr. Anushman Rajaratnam joined the Board of Lankem Ceylon PLC in 2005 and served as the Company’s Managing Director from 2009 until December 2016. He relinquished that position in December 2016 to take up the role as the Group Managing Director of The Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC (CFLB) in January 2017. In addition, he serves on the board of several subsidiary companies of the CFLB group. Prior to joining the CFLB group, he worked overseas for a leading global Accountancy Firm.
Managing Director
Mr. Suren Goonewardene was appointed Managing Director of the Company on 1st August 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Accounting from Monash University Australia, Member of the Certified Practicing Accountants-Australia and is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing U.K. and Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka. He has functioned in the capacity of Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel Lanka Limited, Chief Operating Officer, Dialog Television and Fixed Line Services, Group Managing Director, Lanka Bell Limited, EW Information Systems and has also served on the Boards of Ceylon Shipping Corporation and the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. He was a Council Member of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon and a former Vice President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka. He currently serves on the Boards of Associated Motor Finance PLC, First Guardian Equities Limited, and Dawi Investment Trust (Private) Limited. Mr. Goonewardene’s experience spans across multiple industries and possess expertise in the fields of Telecommunication, Information Technology, Strategic Planning, Organizational Restructuring, Investment/Credit Management, Finance, Marketing & Sales, General Management and Business Consultancy
Director
Mr. A. C. S. Jayaranjan was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in June 2010. He started his career as a professional at KPMG. Thereafter he has been working for over forty years in the commercial and industrial sectors at senior managerial level. He was the Chief Accountant at James Finlay & Company PLC and Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director Shaw Wallace & Hedges PLC. Mr. Jayaranjan then joined as the Group Finance Director of Pership Group and later joined John Keells Holdings PLC, as Senior Vice President, Head of Learning & Development. His experience covers diverse areas in commerce and industry. Mr. Jayaranjan is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, and a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK). He was a visiting lecturer for post graduate programs in management and finance.
Director
Mr. R. Seevaratnam was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in April 2014. He is a Fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and of Sri Lanka and holder of a General Science Degree from the University of London. He was a former senior partner of KPMG. Mr. Seevaratnam is a Director of several listed and unlisted companies
Director
Mr. P.M.A. Sirimane was appointed to the Board on 1st September 2017. He joined the E B Creasy Group in October, 2009 and was appointed to the Board of E.B. Creasy & Company PLC in November 2009. Amongst other senior positions he has functioned as Managing Director/CEO of Mercantile Leasing Limited, Group Finance Director of United Tractor & Equipment Limited, Chief Financial Officer, Sri Lanka Telecom Limited and Director SLT Hong Kong Limited. He has served as a Member of several Committees of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and was an exofficio member of the International Leasing Association. Mr. Sirimane also serves as Group Finance Director of The Colombo Fort Land & Building PLC (CFLB) in addition to serving on the Boards of several subsidiaries of the CFLB Group.
Director
Mr. Gotabaya Dasanayaka was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 1st October 2020. He is an Attorney-at-Law by profession. After a brief period at the unofficial Bar, he joined the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC) in 1979 and was Director General/CEO of the EFC from 2000- 2006. His areas of work and expertise involved representing employers at International and National Level on Labour and related social issues, Employment Law, Employee Relations and Training & Development of Human Resources. He is an Honorary Life Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (Sri Lanka). Mr. Dasanayaka worked with the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a Senior Professional Specialist (Employer’s activity) for the South Asian Region from 2007 to 2015. Since leaving the ILO, he offers consultancy services in employment related subjects.
Director
Dr. Mubarak was appointed to the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director on 21st April 2021. Dr. Mubarak a former Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Industrial Technology Institute has several years’ experience in managing industry-oriented R&D. He has served as a visiting lecturer at several universities in Sri Lanka. Presently he holds the post of Chief of Research and Innovation at the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology. Dr. Mubarak a Commonwealth Scholar, has a B.Sc. degree from the University of Colombo and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge U.K. He has held the posts of President of the Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon, General President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science and President of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka. Dr.Mubarak has served as Chairman of National Science Foundation and on the Boards/ Councils of the University of Colombo, Postgraduate Institute of Science, Sri Lanka Accreditation Board, National Engineering Research & Development Centre and National Science and Technology Commission. Currently he is a Member of the University of Sri Jayewardenapura Council and the Sri Lanka Standards Institute Council. Dr. Mubarak serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of E.B. Creasy & Company PLC and on some of its subsidiary company Boards. He also serves as Chairman of Union Chemicals Lanka PLC