Ruwan resigns as Blue Diamonds CEO to concentrate on eChannelling

Ruwan Silva has resigned as the CEO of Blue Diamonds Jewellery Worldwide Plc with effect from 27 September.

The move is believed to be part of internal restructuring within the Company and eChannelling Plc Group, which holds a 15% stake in Blue Diamonds. Sri Lanka Insurance holds a 10.5% stake. The move will enable Ruwan to focus more on eChannelling whilst Deputy CEO Asanga Karunaratne is tipped to be promoted as CEO of Blue Diamonds.

Ruwan is also the eChannelling Plc Deputy Chairman in addition to being the Chairman of British American Technologies Ltd., a key shareholder of eChannelling Plc holding 28%, whilst SLIC owns 25%.

Prior to setting up British American Technologies, Ruwan was the Chief Financial Officer at Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and Chief Financial Officer for Ericsson Algeria and Sri Lanka. He has more than 18 years of experience, cutting across varied industries, such as healthcare, electronics, telecommunications, transportation, IT and banking.

Asanga Karunaratne was appointed an Executive Director of eChannelling PLC in January 2012. He was the Chief Executive Officer of eChannelling Plc. He is a Chartered Marketer with a MBA and has over 25 years of managerial experience. He also has management experience in the manufacturing and service industries. Karunaratne also serves as the Director of ECL Soft Ltd.

Following a capital reduction move, retained losses at Blue Diamonds as at 30 June 2012 amounted to Rs. 46 million, down from Rs. 881 million as at end FY12.