Ishara Nanayakkara gets a seat on HNB Board

Ishara Nanayakkara

Kithsiri Gunawardena

• Nominates LOLC COO Kithsiri Gunawardena to serve as Non-Executive Non-Independent Director

Single largest shareholder of HNB Ishara Nanayakkara has been given a Board seat with LOLC Group nominating its COO Kithsiri Gunawardena to be appointed a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director.

The Ishara-controlled Browns Investments PLC (BIL) owns the maximum 9.9% voting stake in HNB, and accounts for 45% of non-voting shares. Speculation was that Ishara had sought two seats on HNB Board but had to settle with one.

HNB also announced the appointment of former People’s Bank veteran Rasitha Gunawardana as a Non-Executive Independent Director to its Board.

Kithsiri Gunawardena is an Attorney-at-Law and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management (PIM – Sri Jayewardenepura). He is the Chief Operating Officer – LOLC, and Chief Executive Officer – LOLC Insurance, having joined LOLC in 2004.

He counts over 30 years of experience as a Lawyer. He has held a number of important positions in the State, including the office of State Counsel attached to the Attorney General’s Department, the Office of Director – Legal and Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, and was involved in setting up the Consumer Affairs Authority as its first Director General. He serves on the boards of a number of local and overseas subsidiaries within the LOLC Group.