Russell joins Deepal as second Sri Lankan on AIA Sri Lanka’s Board

AIA Insurance Lanka PLC has appointed Russell De Mel as an Independent Non-executive Director to its Board of Directors. He becomes the second Sri Lankan Independent Non-executive Director to be appointed to the high profile Board of Directors (since AIA Group’s acquisition of the majority holding of the company), joining Deepal Sooriyaarachchi. 

As Independent Non-executive Directors, Deepal and Russell play a key role in safeguarding the interests of stakeholders in the company, providing a wealth of experience and understanding of the Sri Lankan financial services industry. 

Chief Executive Officer Shah Rouf said: “We are delighted to welcome Russell De Mel who together with Deepal Sooriyaarachchi bring great knowledge and experience that undoubtedly enhances our business.”  

Russell De Mel was with NDB Group for over 30 years. He retired as its Director/Group Chief Executive in 2013. During his long career at NDB he held many key positions and played a leading role in the privatisation of the plantation sector. 

At present he is a member of the Board of Directors of Housing Development Finance Corporation, Maldives Islands and TAL Hotels Lanka PLC (Taj Samudra), EAP Holdings Ltd. and Singer Finance (Lanka) PLC. He is also a Consultant to International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, (FCMA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (FCMA) Sri Lanka. 

Other members of the Board of Directors are Chairman William Lisle and Directors Mitchell David New, Robert Alexander Hartnett and Manoj Ramachandran.