External – Council Members

Mr. Palavinnege Sumith Cumaranatunga has been an Independent, Non-Executive Director of Siyapatha Finance PLC since 30th October 2017 and the Chairman of the Company since 12thFebruary 2020. He officiated as the Chairman of the Board Audit Committee, the Board Human Resources & Remuneration Committee, the Board Nomination Committee, the Board Related Party Transactions Review Committee and the Board Information Technology Committee, mostly prior to becoming the Chairman of Siyapatha Finance PLC. He was also a Member of the Board Integrated Risk Management Committee, the Board Corporate Governance Committee and the Board Credit Committee. Mr. P. S. Cumaranatunga was formerly Chairman & Managing Director of the David Pieris Group of Companies, where he served for 30 years and 9 months – 24 years as a Director and 2 years prior to that as General Manager. He retired as Chairman on 31st March 2016, having joined as Accountant on 01st July 1985. During this tenure, the organisation transformed from a relatively small business unit in a single location with a turnover of Rs 43.3 million and a net profit of Rs 311,000 in 1985/86, to one of the most profitable, professionally managed conglomerates in Sri Lanka, with a turnover of Rs 86.2 billion and a net profit of Rs 11.1 billion in 2015/16, an island-wide reach and a consistent track record of exceptional performance, successfully overcoming numerous challenges. The David Pieris Group of Companies was at the forefront of automotive, financial services, information technology and logistics businesses, with industry leadership in many spheres, breaching Rs 10 billion in net profit thrice in five years, from 2011/12 to 2015/16. He also served as Chairman of Assetline Leasing Company from 12th October 2010 to 01st April 2015, during which period the Company was among the most profitable entities in the finance leasing industry. Mr. Cumaranatunga is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA CGMA), a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (DipM MCIM). Presently, he serves as the Chairman of Suvimie Associates, a Company engaged in global trading, sustainable energy and plantations.

Professor Nalin Wickramarachchi earned his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in 1983, followed by a Master of Science from Imperial College, University of London in 1988. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia, Canada in 1994, specializing in Industrial Automation and Intelligent Control Systems. He is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. With an academic career spanning over four decades at the University of Moratuwa, Professor Wickramarachchi has held several key leadership positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Head of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering, and Director of Quality Assurance for the Faculty of Engineering. His research portfolio includes extensive work conducted at the University of British Columbia and the University of Melbourne, where he served as a Senior Research Fellow. His scholarly interests and publications cover a wide range of topics, including Control and Automation, Lighting Technology, Energy Efficiency, and Artificial Intelligence. Professor Wickramarachchi has been recognized for his contributions to scientific research with the President’s Award for Scientific Publications in 2008 and the Outstanding Research Performance Award from the University of Moratuwa.

Professor Sharya Scharenguivel is currently Emeritus Professor of Law and former Dean, Professor of Law, Head of Department and Head Department of Private and Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. She was also the Director of the Human Rights Centre of the University of Colombo). She has won several scholarships, fellowships and awards including the Benian’s Fellowship at St John’s College Cambridge, the Inns of Court Fellowship and visiting fellowships at Balliol College Oxford and Clare Hall Cambridge. She has being a Board member of several organizations, outside of the University of Colombo including the National Child Protection Authority; the Law Commission. She was a Member of Sectoral Committee on Family Law; the Committee on Muslim Law Reforms, the National Action Plan for Children and currently serves on the National Group of Sri Lanka in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the Family Law Advisory Committee, She also serves as a Board member of the Law and Society Trust and as a Senior Advisor to Verite Research. She has published two books entitled Marriage Breakdown and the Duty of Support (1984) and Parental and State Responsibility for Children:The Development of South African and Sri Lankan Law (2006) She has also co-authored with Prof Lakshman Marasinghe a book entitled Compilation of Selected Aspects of the Special Laws of Sri Lanka (2015) and has also edited ‘Contract of Employment Cases and Co mmentaries’(.2010) More recently she was co editor of Perspectives of Constitutional Reform in Sri Lanka (2021) with Dr Hiran Jayewardene. She also has over 30 publications in journals, 15 seminar papers and reports, and about 25 guest lectures and presentations to her credit.

An accomplished professional with over four decades of experience in strategic positions within both the private and public sectors. Skilled in leading institutional transformations, strategic thinking, complex project management, negotiations and mediation, and public communications. Private sector: played a pivotal role in the transformation of Colombo Dockyard PLC into a leading international shipyard. Subsequently, held short stints as the Secretary General and CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and later as the Director General and CEO of the Employers Federation of Ceylon. Public sector: served as the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade of Sri Lanka (2016 to 2019) and as a Member of the Board and subsequently as Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) between March 2016 and November 2019. During this period, engaged in areas of international trade, investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Served on several Boards of State institutions and Cross Functional Task Forces/Committees. Contribution during Post Economic Recession: between 2021 and 2022, functioned as a Member of the SOE Reforms Units, the Oversight Committee on Investments & Exports, and the Experts Committee on High Impact Fisheries, supporting multi-faceted economic restructuring, on invitation, in a voluntary capacity. Present Engagements: engaged in various other consulting, visiting lecturer, university council member, and board member roles, including ICLP – Institute for Commercial Law and Practice, CCC-ICLP Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre, Local branch of the IMarEST (UK) – Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, and the Steering Committee on Public Sector Reforms of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.