Prabash Subasinghe and two others appointed to SDB bank Board

SANASA Development Bank (SDB bank) has announced the appointment of three Non-Independent, Non-Executive Directors to the Board following the recently held 20th Annual General Meeting.

The three Directors are Prabash Subasinghe, Navindra Liyanaarachchi and S. Lionel Thilakarathne. Global Rubber Industries of which Subasinghe is the Managing Director, holds 12% stake and is the second largest shareholder in SDB bank. Subasinghe holds 64,608 shares of SDB bank while the other two do not own any shares. 

Subasinghe is the Managing Director of Global Rubber Industries, a manufacturer of high-performance specialty tyres selling to over 50 countries.  He is also the Managing Director of Global Sea Foods Ltd., which exports high-quality seafood. He is the Chairman of Sri Lanka Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products, President of the Seafood Exporters Association and a Board member of the Sri Lanka Society of Rubber Industry. He holds a BSc in Applied Economics and Business Management from the Ivy League Cornell University, while he pursued further studies at Harvard University, INSEAD and the Centre for Creative Leadership.

Liyanaarachchi is CEO and General Manager of SANASA Federation, the apex organisation of the SANASA movement in Sri Lanka. Previously he worked as microfinance consultant for the Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association and had served as Research Assistant at the University of Ruhuna. 

He is a member of the Environmental Professionals Association of Sri Lanka and a Graduate in Agricultural Economics. He is a diploma holder of Environment Conservation and Natural Resources Management from the Centre for Environment and Nature Studies. He has exposure to the credit union networks of Indonesia, Nepal, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Singapore and China. He is also Deputy Chairman of SANASA Printers and Publishers and Director of SANASA Campus. He is also a Member of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers of Sri Lanka.

Thilakarathne is the Chairman of Nikaweratiya SANASA Union Ltd. and the Executive Director of the Rural Centre for Development (SANGRAMA), Treasurer of the Green Movement of Sri Lanka and Member of the Board of Directors of Governess Forums of Sri Lanka. 

He has many years of experience in project management and participatory project planning and implementation in rural areas and has published three books. He is a diploma holder in Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka.

With the latest appointments the Board of SANASA Development Bank comprises M.S. Kiriwandeniya (Chairperson), H.M.G.B. Herath, L. Abeysekara, D.J.K. Newunhella, M.K.L. Fernando, S. Amaratunge, Prabash Subasinghe, Navindra Liyanaarachchi and S. Lionel Thilakarathne.

NOTE: This story has been amended to reflect the shareholding of one of the directors.