HNB Board gets new members

Tuesday, 5 May 2015 02:24 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

  • Rienzie Arseculeratne new Chairman
  • President Sirisena’s private secretary Palitha Pelpola, ex-HNB DGM and Union Bank COO among new appointees
Renowned legal luminary Rienzie Arsecularatne has been appointed as the new Chairman of Hatton National Bank (HNB), joining several other top personalities who were presented with places on its Board of Directors. Among the new faces on the HNB Board are President Maithripala Sirisena’s private secretary Palitha Pelpola, senior banker at HNB and former Union Bank COO A.N. de Silva and financial services industry professional and First Capital COO D. Soosaipillai. All appointments were approved by the Central Bank. Arseculeratne is an Attorney-at-Law and a member of the Unofficial Bar practicing criminal law and public law. He was appointed as a President’s Counsel in 1998. He was the former Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. He was also a State Counsel, Senior State Counsel, Deputy Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor from 1975 and he was the Head of the Criminal Section of the Attorney General’s Department until his retirement in 2003. Arsecularatne was also the Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Fisheries from 1989 to 1993 and served as an examiner at the Sri Lanka Law College. He holds a LL.B Degree (Ceylon) and a Master’s Degree in Commercial (LL.M.) - Bristol. He has been admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and as a barrister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Pelpola, apart from being Private Secretary to the President, is also a political consultant for the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFEE). He served the Government in the capacities of private secretary to the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Lands and Land Development, Managing Director of the Mahaweli Economic Agency, Director of the Mahaweli Centre, Special Advisor to the Minister of Plantation Industries and Director General of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. He was the former CEO of Leader Publications Ltd. and was the media consultant of the World Health Organization.       Pelpola was also the senior advisor of the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion and has also worked at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Los Angeles as an Executive Director. De Silva counts over 40 years of experience in commercial banking. He functioned as the Chief Operating Officer of Union Bank of Colombo Plc from which he retired after 11 and half years of service on 31 March 2015. He was also its Acting CEO for approximately two years between 2008 and 2010. Prior to joining Union Bank, he was with the HNB for 29 years up to August 2003 and was Deputy General Manager - Corporate Banking and a member of all key committees. He played a leading role in establishing HNB’s Credit Risk Division and also compiled the bank’s Credit Manual. He has received extensive training and exposure in banking and management both locally and overseas at institutions such as Dresdner Bank, Germany, the National Institute of Bank Management, Pune, India, the Centre for Financial Engineering in Development, Washington, DC, USA and Monash University Mt. Eliza Campus, Melbourne in Australia. He also participated in a study tour of the South African Banking System with the Institute of Bankers, South Africa. De Silva was also actively involved in HNB’s takeover of Indsuez Bank and Habib Bank AG Zurich. He is also a past director of Lanka Clear Ltd. and an alternate Director of the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka. He successfully completed the final examination of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London in 1978 and was consequently elected an associate of the institute.       D. Soosaipillai is the Chief Operating Officer at Dunamis Capital Plc, the holding company of the First Capital Group and Kelsey Group. He was Group COO at First Capital and Dunamis Capital Plc. He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and the Board Executive Committee and Member of the Board Integrated Risk Management Committee of Commercial Credit and Finance Plc. He serves as a Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the Board Audit Committee and Chairman of the Board Integrated Risk Management Committee of Trade Finance and Investments Plc. He is involved in startup work relating to risk assessment and compliance management of BG Microfinance Myanmar Ltd. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka. He has over 30 years experience in financial services and risk management and compliance both at the operational and strategic levels. He was engaged by the World Bank as a short-term consultant on a Payables Assessment assignment in the Maldives as part of a wider public finance management project. Soosaipillai has served as the Managing Director of the Maldives Finance Leasing Company Ltd. for over seven years and as the CEO of Ceylease Financial Services Ltd., a subsidiary of Bank of Ceylon. With the latest appointments the Board of Directors HNB comprises R. Arsecularatne (Chairman), A.J. Alles (Managing Director/CEO), W.W. Gamage, Rose Cooray, L.R. Karunanaratne, Damien Fernando, D.S.C. Jayawardena, Sujeewa Mudalige, Rusi Captain, Amal Cabraal, P. Pelpola, D. Soosaipillai and A.N. De Silva.

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