Our Board of Directors drives our multi-faceted organisation towards new horizons, conceptualises our strategy and leads our team. They bring in decades of collective experience in leadership, expertise and innovation to fuel the growth of Brown & Company PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest and leading conglomerates.
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 LOLC Holdings PLC and was appointed to the Board in 2002. Today, he is the Chairman of Browns Group, holding directorships in many of its subsidiaries and associate companies. 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. This interest in microfinance led to the growth of LOLC Group’s international footprint, starting with an investment in PRASAC, the largest microfinance company in Cambodia, followed by the inauguration of LOLC Myanmar Microfinance Company Ltd, a green field investment in Myanmar in which he was the founding Chairman, as well as his strategic involvement in LOLC Cambodia Ltd; the fifth largest microfinance company in Cambodia. Building upon his forte in microfinance, LOLC Group has further expanded its offshore portfolio with Mr. Nanayakkara serving as a Director of Pak Oman Microfinance Bank Limited, a joint venture based in Pakistan between the governments of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Sultanate of Oman. Mr. Nanayakkara’s motivation to expand into various growth peripheries is further illustrated through his role as the Executive Chairman of Browns Investments PLC. Through various strategic investments, he is committed to catalysing development in the growth sectors of the Sri Lankan economy. Endorsing his entrepreneurial spirit, Mr. 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.
Other key appointments: Executive Chairman - Browns Investments PLC, LOLC Ceylon Holdings PLC, Director - Associated Battery Manufacturers (Cey) Ltd, LOLC Myanmar Microfinance Co. Ltd, Pak Oman MFB, Ceylon Real Estate Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, LOLC Advanced Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, LOLC Geo Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, LOLC Capital (Pvt) Ltd, Colombo Marina Development (Pvt) Ltd, Marina Hotel Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Ceylon Graphene Technologies (Pvt) Ltd and LOLC Ceylon Property Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.
Kapila Jayawardena joined LOLC in the year 2007 as the Group Managing Director/CEO. He holds an MBA in Financial Management and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Bankers and an Associate member of the Institute of Cost and Executive Accountants, London. He has varied experience in the fields of Investment banking, banking operations, audit, relationship management, corporate finance, corporate banking and treasury management. Mr. Jayawardena served as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (SLBA) in 2003/04 and as the Country Head and the CEO (Sri Lanka and Maldives) of Citibank NA from 1998 to 2007. He has also served as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka in 2006/2007 and was appointed to the Financial Sector Reforms Committee (FSRC) and was a member of the National Council of Economic Development (NCED). He was also a Board Member of the United States - Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission.
Other key appointments: Chairman - Eden Hotel Lanka PLC, Serendib Hotels PLC Dolphin Hotels PLC, Sigiriya Hotel PLC, LOLC General Insurance PLC, LOLC Securities Limited, Palm Garden Hotels PLC, LOLC Development Finance PLC, Deputy Chairman Seylan Bank PLC, Director - Brown & Company PLC, Browns Investments PLC, LOLC International (Private) Limited, LOLC Advanced Technologies (Private) Limited, LOLC Asia (Private) Limited, LOLC Private Limited, Ceylon Graphene Technologies (Private) Limited, LOLC Africa Holdings (Private) Limited.
Kalsha Amarasinghe holds an Honours Degree in Economics and has an outstanding vision for investments. She serves on the Boards of subsidiaries of Browns Group of Companies and LOLC Holdings PLC.
Other key appointments: Director - LOLC Finance PLC, LOLC Life Assurance Limited, Palm Garden Hotels PLC, Riverina Resorts (Pvt) Ltd., Eden Hotel Lanka PLC, Brown & Co. PLC, Browns Investments PLC, Green Paradise (Pvt) Ltd., Browns Holdings Ltd., Danya Capital (Pvt) Ltd. Ultimate Sports (Pvt) Ltd. Melana Capital (Pvt) Ltd, Serendib Hotels PLC, Dolphin Hotels PLC, Hotel Sigiriya PLC, Sanctuary Resorts Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., Serendib Leisure Management Ltd. and Kammala Hoteliers (Pvt) Ltd
Tissa Bandaranayake is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and he holds a B.Sc. Degree from the University of Ceylon. He has more than 45 years of commercial and professional experience. He was with Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka for 27 years until retirement as a Senior Partner in April 2009, managing a large portfolio of clients both local and multinational, in various industries.
Mr. Bandaranayake was a Past Chairman of the Audit Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a Past President of the Practicing Chartered Accountants Forum. He is also the Vice President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka, a member of the Rotary International Finance Committee 2013-2016 and the Rotary International District Governor for Sri Lanka in 1999-2000. Mr. Bandaranayake has held many senior posts in the private sector as well.
Other key appointments: Chairman - the Quality Assurance Board of Sri Lanka, Independent Non- Executive, Director - Nawaloka Hospitals PLC, Laugfs Gas PLC, Samson International PLC, Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC, Renuka Holdings PLC, Renuka Foods PLC, Harischandra Mills PLC and Micro Holdings (Pte) Ltd. Consultant - Board of Noritake Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
Janaka de Silva holds a B.Sc., (Ceylon) and an M.B.A. (Sri Jayawardenapura). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka. Mr. de Silva was a Senior Accountant of the State Engineering Corporation during 1970 to 1972 and was the Finance Manager at Building Material Corporation during 1972 to 1973. He also served as a Lecturer/Accountant at Indeco Ltd, Lusaka, Zambia from 1973 -1976. In 1976, Mr. de Silva joined Bank of Ceylon as the Assistant General Manager/Controller and was elevated to the position of Corporate Advisor and set up the IT function which was the largest IT facility in the country by the end of 1985. He introduced computerised banking with central processing and multipoint access to Sri Lanka. He was the head of the Audit function, conducting the internal audits of over 200 branch offices throughout the country. Further, he introduced new techniques such as statistical sampling. He was also a member of the Steering Committee created to set up the Automated Clearing House of Sri Lanka. In 1987, Mr. de Silva joined Sampath Bank and was the founder General Manager/CEO. He made the bank the most technologically advanced financial institution with all branches connected online for the first time in Sri Lanka. He was the first to introduce credit cards with a major international franchise and a multipoint ATM network. He pioneered many new innovations such as extended banking hours, interest on daily balance on Savings Accounts, and the use of UV lights for signature verification.
During 1992 to 1995, he served as the Director - Operations of American Express Bank, Colombo and was responsible for all operational activities and functioned as the Quality Coordinator of the Colombo Office. Mr. de Silva joined the Union Bank of Colombo Ltd as the General Manager/Chief Operations Officer and designed and implemented the information systems topology, pioneered web presence and internet banking amongst indigenous banks. Under his direction the Bank obtained ISO 9002 Quality Certification and became the first bank in Sri Lanka to connect ATMs to a major international network and Mr. de Silva was appointed Managing Director/CEO in 2002. He served as a Consultant to the National Development Bank during the period of 2003 - 2007 and advised the Bank on the integration of financial and accounting systems during the merger of National Development Bank with NDB Bank.
Danesh Abeyrathna serves in the capacity of Director/Chief Executive Officer of LOLC Advanced Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, the research and advanced technology arm of the renowned LOLC Group. He was also the former Chief Operating Officer of Browns Group. Moreover, he also serves on the Boards of Gal Oya Plantations (Pvt) Ltd; Gal Oya Holdings (Pvt) Ltd; Browns Agri Solutions (Pvt) Ltd; BI Commodities & Logistics (Pvt) Ltd; Grey Reach Investment Ltd; Sunbird Bioenergy Ltd (Sierra Leone) and Fortigrains (Pvt) Ltd, and is actively involved in the operations of each entity. Abeyrathna holds a Bachelor’s of Science (Hons) in Engineering from the University of Ruhuna. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA - USA), an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) and the Institute of Engineers (SL).
Thamotharampillai Sanakan joined Browns Group in 2013 as the Chief Financial Officer and was tasked with an additional role of leading the operations in 2020 as the Chief Operating Officer. He counts for over 20 years of experience where he held many senior management positions in multiple industries such as Financial Services, Trading, Export, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Commodities and Consumer. Presently he serves as the Chief Executive Officer / Chief Financial Officer of the Browns Group of Companies and also the Chairman of Browns Fabric Limited. Driving the Group towards new revenue streams with multifaceted local and regional expansions while maintaining sustainable growth in a challenging environment has been a key factor for Sanakan. He previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer at LOLC Securities Ltd in the LOLC Group.
He excels in the areas of digital transformation, change management, new business start-ups, business process re-engineering, project management and strategic business management. He served in the Board of Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC and currently serve in the Boards of LOLC Development Finance PLC, Associated Battery Manufacturers (Ceylon) Ltd., B.I .Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and several other group companies. He is also the Audit Committee Chairman for LOLC Development Finance PLC. He is an Associate Member of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK and Chartered Global Management Accountants of USA.