Tanky Wickremaratne new Chairman at NDB; Kavan, Dinal to join board

Tuesday, 31 March 2015 11:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Hayleys Chairman N.G. (Tanky) Wickremaratne has been nominated as the new Chairman of National Development Bank (NDB), replacing Sunil Wijesinha who was asked to resign last week. Daily FT learns that Wickremeratne’s name was proposed and approved by the NDB Board at its meeting last week ahead of

the AGM held yesterday. His name was nominated by the Government/State-owned shareholder. Two Directors appointed by the previous regime, Anura Siriwardena, former Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and Sujeewa Rajapaksa, former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, resigned from the NDB Board after the AGM. To fill their vacancies the names of Kavan Ratnayake, currently the Chairman of Associated Newspapers Ltd. and top professional from the private sector with stints at IBM Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata and Cargills Plc, and lawyer Dinal Philips have been proposed subject to Central Bank approval. The latter is a mere formality even though a ‘Fit and Proper’ test will be applied since the

duo has been nominated by the Government. Two Directors who were up for re-election, Kimarly Fernando and Trevine Jayasekera, were re-appointed at NDB’s AGM yesterday. Incoming Chairman Wickremaratne has previously served on the Board of HNB following his retirement from Hayleys. The current NDB Managing Director Rajendra Theagarajah was also holding the same position at HNB at the time. Outgoing Chairman Sunil Wijesinha, considered a top professional with vast experience in financial services and the private sector, was not handpicked by the previous regime at the Central Bank but by Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera. The other appointees who remain on the NDB Board are Indrani Sugathadasa, the Chairperson of the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka who was re-appointed by the new Government, D.S.P. Wikramanayake and shareholder director Ashok Pathirage (Deputy Chairman).