Janashakthi Life’s Board of Directors sees exciting new additions

Mahela Jayawardena

Warini de Costa

Annika Senanayake

Dinesh Schaffter

• Mahela Jayawardena, Warini de Costa, Annika Senanayake, Dinesh Schaffter and Ravi Liyanage join Janashakthi Life’s Board ushering in a new era

Janashakthi Insurance PLC yesterday announced exciting new additions to its Board with the appointment of five new directors; Mahela Jayawardena, Warini de Costa, Annika Senanayake, Dinesh Schaffter and Ravi Liyanage. While the new appointments to the Board of Directors will be in effect from 5 July 2021, they are subject to regulatory approval.

“We are pleased to welcome Mahela to the Janashakthi Life Board. His long history of leadership as a legendary cricketer, coupled with his managerial expertise as an entrepreneur will be invaluable to Janashakthi Life as we continue to evolve and build deeper relationships with our policyholders as a purpose driven insurer. 

“With their background in Marketing and Finance, Annika and Warini bring expertise to our Board that strengthen Janashakthi Life’s commitment as we continue to deliver value to all stakeholders. Dinesh and Ravi have decades of financial and managerial experience which will provide valuable strategic guidance as we continue to pursue our growth journey,” commented Janashakthi Insurance Chairman Prakash Schaffter.

In conclusion, he further added: “This transition in leadership is the beginning of a new growth phase at Janashakthi Life. During the past three years, since we renewed our sole focus on Life Insurance, we have invested in exploring the full potential of our organisation while identifying new opportunities and strategic priorities for growth. 

“We strongly believe that our renewed leadership team will be an asset to Janashakthi Life as we continue to accelerate the execution of our strategic priorities to expand our presence in the Life Insurance segment. The addition of these five individuals will create a new dynamic within the Board, ushering in a new era in Janashakthi Life's ongoing legacy”. 

With the recent appointments, the Board of Directors of Janashakthi Insurance PLC comprises of Prakash Schaffter, Ravi Liyanage, Ramesh Schaffter, Nathan Sivagananathan, Avindra Rodrigo, Deshal de Mel, Mahela Jayawardena, Warini de Costa, Dinesh Schaffter and Annika Senanayake. 

These appointments were announced during the Board meeting following the 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was successfully live streamed from the Janashakthi Life Head Office on 5 July. The AGM was hosted live for shareholders on a virtual platform, allowing an interactive session in compliance with the precautionary measures to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Mahela Jayawardena: A seasoned leader and former cricketer Mahela Jayawardena is the Founder and joint Chairman of the leading seafood restaurant group, Ministry of Crab with successful restaurants in Colombo, Mumbai, Manilla, Male and Shanghai. He also serves as a Board Member of several other companies in Real Estate, Agriculture and Hospitality.

Warini de Costa: Warini de Costa is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants of Sri Lanka and holds an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. She counts over 40 years of experience in Finance and Management. She has held several directorships and Board roles and presently serves on the Board of Amaya Leisure PLC as a non-executive Director.

Annika Senanayake: Annika Senanayake holds a Bachelor of Arts in Management Studies from the University of Nottingham – UK. She heads Corporate Planning for the IWS Holdings Group, in diversified business interests in telecommunications, logistics, media and broadcast, automobiles, aviation, warehousing, food and beverage processing and packaging. Annika holds several Board roles and directorships and is CNN’s Official Business Representative for Sri Lanka.

Dinesh Schaffter: Dinesh Schaffter currently serves as the Managing Director of First Capital Holdings and its subsidiaries. With his finance background and his substantial experience and expertise of over 25 years in this area, he has executed a range of transactions focused on change of control, capital formation and capital market strategy. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA) – UK and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD – France.  

Ravi Liyanage: Ravi Liyanage, Chief Executive Officer of Janashakthi Insurance PLC, brings years of knowledge to the company with his experience in senior management roles across industries. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colombo and two Postgraduate degrees; Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing – UK, and Master of Business Administration in General Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) from CMA (Australia) and a fellow of the Life Underwriting Training Council of USA.