Sujeewa Mudalige new Chairman at Ambeon as new owners make changes to Board

Sujeewa Mudalige

Savanth Sebastian

Top professional Sujeewa Mudalige has been appointed Chairman of Ambeon Capital Plc as new owners made two changes to its Board.

Apart from Mudalige, financial services professional Savanth Sebastian was also appointed as Non-Executive Independent Director.

Paving the way for the appointments, Ambeon Capital Chairman Sanjeev Gardiner and Harsha Amarasekara stepped down.

Last week, nearly 28% stake in Ambeon Capital was acquired by a consortium including cricketing hero Aravinda de Silva for Rs. 1.5 billion or Rs. 8.50 per share. 

Yesterday a further 44 million shares traded for Rs. 398 million with Ambeon Capital (TAP) gaining by 40 cents to close at Rs. 9.50.

Ambeon Capital Group has interests in footwear, manufacturing porcelain, investments, property, financial services and IT and related services including Millennium ITESP.

Mudalige counts over 30 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant and recently retired as the Managing Partner of PwC, Sri Lanka.

He currently serves as a Non-Executive Chairman of Mercantile Services Provident Society (MSPS). He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director at National Development Bank PLC, Chemical Industries Colombo PLC and subsidiaries, NSBM Green University, Sherwood Capital Ltd and Mahindra Ideal Finance Ltd. He was appointed as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sri Lanka in March 2023. He is also a committee member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Mudalige has vast experience as an Audit Committee Chair in both public and private sector organisations. He is a past President of ICASL and has been a member of the Council of ICASL and of the governing board of CIMA UK, Sri Lanka Division and held several such other positions locally and globally during the span of his career.

Mudalige was an Independent Non-Executive director of Hatton National Bank PLC from 2012 to 2019 and was a Chair and member of several of its board subcommittees during his tenure. He was also the Deputy Chairman of the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee of the CBSL and a member of the Advisory Committee to advise the National Economic Council and the Advisory Committee for Revival of Failed Licensed Finance Companies. 

His qualifications are FCA (SL), FCMA (UK), FCCA ( UK) and FCPA (Australia).

Sebastian has a wealth of experience in economics, financial services and investment management and currently also serves on the Boards of Directors of Nations Trust Bank PLC (6 years), Voguetex Ltd., and ArpicoAtaraxia Asset Management. 

Sebastian brings with him twenty-one years of industry experience, having carried out responsibilities for nine years as the Senior Economist within the Global Markets research team at Commonwealth Bank in Australia, advising Federal and State Governments, high net worth private and institutional clients, and internal stake holders - including Colonial First State and the Commonwealth Bank senior leadership team.

Prior to this, he spent four years working in and then managing the International trading desk for Commonwealth Securities – the stock broking division of Commonwealth Bank, Australia which transacted across 31 international markets. While in the role he was responsible for the facilitation of Strategic Trading Accounts – allowing CBA Treasury to manage risk and drive an alternative source of revenue.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Actuarial Studies & Finance, is an Accredited Advisor of the Australian Stock Exchange, and a Master Practitioner of the Australian Stockbrokers and Financial Advisers Association.