DCSL gets new Joint MD; Stasshani appointed to Board

Capt. Kolitha Jagath Kahanda

Stasshani Jayawardena

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC has appointed Capt. Kolitha Jagath Kahanda as the Joint Managing Director of the company effective from 22 September.

DCSL also announced the appointment of Stasshani Jayawardena as a Director.

Capt. Kahanda has been with the Group since 1993 and has been a member of the DCSL Board since 2006. According to DCSL Chairman and Managing Director Harry Jayawardena, Capt. Kahanda has successfully led the company's entire manufacturing and distribution operations for the last several years. 

He noted that Capt. Kahanda's commitment and performance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions and issues with supplies and distribution, have been exemplary. 

Capt. Kahanda is an alumnus of both St. Thomas’ College Matale and Science College Matale. He has been with the Sri Lanka Army and Hilton Hotel Colombo before joining DCSL.

With an annual turnover of Rs. 100 billion, DCSL is the largest liquor producer in the country. DCSL pays approximately Rs. 75 billion yearly to the government as Excise tax and other taxes. 

According to the Excise Department publications, DCSL has about 65% market share in the hard liquor segment. Stasshani Jayawardena serves on the Board of Aitken Spence and is its Executive Director – Hotels, Destination Management and Overseas Travel.

She marks several milestones for Aitken Spence, as the youngest board member, and the first female member on the board of Aitken Spence. Jayawardena heads the tourism sector of Aitken Spence inclusive of hotels, destination management and overseas travel.

With a career spanning over 10 years at Aitken Spence, she wields a fresh perspective in management and leads strategic business units across the Group.

She leads several key strategic teams as the Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements and Splendor Media; and serves on the Boards of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, Stassen Group, Lanka Milk Foods (CWE), Aitken Spence Aviation, and Western Power Company.  

A graduate of St. James’ and Lucie Clayton College and Keele University in the United Kingdom, Jayawardena made waves from a young age. She was the youngest intern to work under US Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton and Former US President Bill Clinton in 2003 and was appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador for EY NextGen Club from 2017 to 2019.

Stasshani is also a member of the PWC NextGen Advisory Board, and the Executive Board of The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and was appointed to represent THASL at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Committee meetings in 2019 (Hotel sector).

She was appointed as a Council Member of the EFC and as Chairperson of the EFC Hotels and Tourism Employers Group for the Financial Year 2020/2021. She is also the Executive Committee Member for the year 2020/21 at the International Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.

Jayawardena represents the Company as the Ambassador from Aitken Spence at the Target Gender Equality initiative of the UN Global Compact since 2020. 

She is also a member of the Austrian Business Circle in Sri Lanka.

Following the latest appointments, the Board of Directors of DCSL comprises Harry Jayawardena (Chairman and Managing Director), Capt. K.J. Kahanda (Joint Managing Director), Royle Jansz, N. De S. Aditya, Hasitha Jayawardena, Dr. A.N. Balasooriya, R. Seevarathnam and Stasshani Jayawardena.