Chandula Abeywickrema appointed Director of Richard Peiris Finance

Thursday, 29 January 2015 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chandula Abeywickrema has been appointed Director of Richard Peiris Finance Ltd. Abeywickrema was the Chairman of Singapore-based Banking With The Poor Network (BWTP), Asia’s largest microfinance network and currently serves as the Managing Director/CEO of CCC Solutions, a fully-owned project management subsidiary company of Sri Lanka’s largest business chamber, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

An accomplished commercial banker with expertise and experience in retail and development banking spanning over 30 years, Abeywickrema has served at Hatton National Bank (HNB), one of the largest Sri Lankan banks, as Deputy General Manager prior to joining the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. He spearheaded HNB’s retail and development banking strategy over two decades enabling the bank to achieve national and international milestones and recognition. Under his leadership, HNB won the Best Retail Bank award six consecutive times until 2013. Abeywickrema is the Chairman of the Board of CSR Sri Lanka, the national apex body for corporate responsibility in Sri Lanka, and also serves on Boards of a number of Sri Lankan and international financial institutions as an independent board member and has functioned as a leader in microfinance in Sri Lanka as well as in Asia where he has acted as an innovator. He was appointed as the team leader of the policy advocacy team for financial inclusion for the Asian Bankers’ Association in view of his wide knowledge and expertise. A product of Royal College Colombo, Abeywickrema earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Kelaniya in 1981 and commenced his career as management trainee at Ceylon Cold Stores (Elephant House) in 1982 . He served on the 20-member core team of Lanka Orix Leasing Ltd. (LOLC) from 1983 to 1990 as a senior credit and marketing executive in the formative years of the company when financial leasing was introduced to Sri Lanka in the early eighties.