Axiata Group Group CFO to address SLID Membership

Wednesday, 28 May 2014 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Flying down from Malaysia specially to address the Membership of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) is Axiata Group Berhad Group Chief Financial Officer Chari TVT who will deliver the keynote address at the CFO Forum organised by SLID on Friday this week. The CFO, the big picture thinker, is expected to possess robust analytical skills and business knowledge to realise the full potential that finance has to offer and must also have a strategic outlook and be able to look beyond the financials. He has evolved from a financial overseer to corporate strategist who identifies growth opportunities for the organisation and oversees investment strategies to unlock new business values. Today’s modern finance function is empowered by data insights and collaborative new ways of working.

Focusing on this, the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) will host a forum titled ‘The Strategic CFO’ scheduled for 30 May from 5 to 7:30 p.m. (registrations from 4:30 p.m.) at the Ivy Room of the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, followed by a panel discussion. The panel boasts of an experienced outfit the likes of, Hemas former Chairman Deshamanya Lalith De Mel, Lion Brewery PLC Director/CEO Suresh Shah, Aitken Spence PLC Group CFO Nilanthi Sivapragasam, with Trade Finance and Investment Director Imran Furkhan as the moderator. Chari TVT the Keynote Speaker was the former CFO of Celcom Axiata Berhad. Being appointed in 2009 he was the instrumental for many initiatives that contributed to the excellent financial performance of Celcom, making it one of the most profitable companies in Malaysia with a revenue of USD 2.3 billion with PAT of 800. He has also served at HP financial Services Asia Pacific & Japan as the Vice President having an illustrious career in HP for over twenty years. He has also been the Head of Sales & Marketing of Asia Pacific. He holds an MBA from State University of New York in Buffalo, and is a member of the Charted Institute of Management Accountants UK (CIMA), Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), an Associate member of the Institute of Charted Accountant (ACA) and institute of Cost and Works Accountants (ICWA) from India. Deshamanya Lalith De Mel happens to be the only Sri Lankan to have been a Director of a top 100 company in the UK having served on the Main Board of Reckitt & Colman and of Reckitt Benckiser PLC UK for many years. He is the former Chairman of Hemas Holdings PLC, and is the current Chairman of First Capital PLC and the Tourism Cluster in the National Council for Business Development. He has also served as Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and as the Chairman and Director General of the Board of Investment and is a Director of John Keells Holdings and People’s Bank and has been a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Finance. The current Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Suresh Shah is a successful businessman who is also the Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC and Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC and Sri Lanka Business Development Centre. He also serves on the Council of The Employers Federation of Ceylon. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Being one of the most powerful 50 women in Sri Lankan business, Nilanthi Sivapragasam represents many financial bodies in the country as the Co-chairperson and Board member. She currently serves as the Group CFO of Aitken Spence PLC and a Director of several subsidiaries and joint venture companies in the Group. She is a Council Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK and has over 30 years of post qualifying experience in the industry. The Moderator Imran Furkan a Chartered Management Accountant by profession, currently serves as the Executive Director of the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM). He is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of Trade Finance and Investments PLC. Imran previously headed the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) in the capacity of Chief Executive Officer, and was also employed by Agro Harapan Lestari Ltd., a subsidiary of the Carsons Cumberbatch Group. He was a Member of the 40 under 40 list of business leaders published by Echelon Magazine in 2013 and 2014. The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors was set up as a forum to serve the corporate and professional development needs of company directors in private and public sector organisations. It is the premier forum for directors and is the authoritative focal point on boardroom governance in Sri Lanka. It has a diverse membership of over 600 professionals and directors from blue chips, quoted and unquoted private companies, family businesses and entrepreneurial ventures. The sponsors at the event are Dialog Axiata and Smart Media. More information on the forum can be received via email to [email protected] or by phone on 2301646/8.