Two ex-JKH men appointed to Royal Ceramics Board of Directors

Sanjeewa R. Jayaweera

Jit Gunaratne

Royal Ceramics PLC yesterday announced the appointment of Sanjeewa R. Jayaweera and Jit Gunaratne as Independent Non-Executive Directors.

Jayaweera has a proven track record spanning over two decades in senior management positions of several John Keells Group of Companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), possessing a well-established reputation for adhering to high ethical standards and integrity. 

He has expertise in Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Hotel Management, Manufacturing, Retail, Audit and Compliance. He was part of the core team in the highly successful entry of the John Keells Group Hotel sector entry to the Republic of Maldives in 1996, the turnaround of the Keells Supermarket chain 2012-2013 and the exponential growth in revenue and profitability of Ceylon Cold Stores, resulting in a 250% growth in share price over two years in 2015-2017. 

He has also been a member of the Group Operating Committee (GOC) of John Keells Holdings (JKH) from July 2005 to June 2018.

Gunaratne has over 40 years career experience at JKH, leading the teams in the Food and Beverage, Plantations and Leisure sectors of the Group. The insights and experiences gained from these diverse industries honed his expertise in Strategic Planning and Execution, Production and Distribution, and Industrial relations and Change Management. 

Gunaratne was a Member of the Group Executive Committee of the JKH Group from 2005 to 2020, Member of the Food Advisory Council of the Ministry of Health – Sri Lanka (2016-2018), Founder/Chairman of the Beverage Association of Sri Lanka (2012-2018), Member of the Council for Hotel and Tourism of the Employer’s Federation of Ceylon (2018-2020) and held Directorships and served on several public listed and private companies within the JKH Group.

With the latest appointments, the Board of Directors of Royal Ceramics comprises of Chairman Dhammika Perera, Deputy Chairman A.M. Weerasinghe, Managing Director Aravinda Perera, G.A.R.D. Prasanna, R.N. Asirwatham, S.H. Amarasekera, N.R. Thambiayah, L.N. de S. Wijeyeratne, N.J. Weerakoon, S.M. Liyanage, T.G. Thoradeniya, J.R. Gunaratne and S.R. Jayaweera.