Leadership

Appointed as the Chairman of the Delmege Group in 2022 the quintessential specialist in the Food and Beverage industry is hailed for his sharp business acumen and tacit and expert knowledge on a range of leading food products and beverages. Mr. J R Gunaratne has 40 years of experience in Strategic Planning, Production & Distribution, Industrial Relations, and Change Management in the Food & Beverage, Plantations, and Leisure Sectors.

During his career at John Keells Holdings PLC, he held the position of President and Directorships in several listed and private companies of the John Keells Group. He has been a Member of the Council of Employers Federation of Ceylon, the Food Advisory Council of the Ministry of Health, and a Member of the Council for Hotel & Tourism. He was also the Founder Chairman of the Beverage Association of Sri Lanka.

Joined Hayleys Group in 1969. Appointed to the Board in 1998. Chairman & Chief Executive of Hayleys PLC since July 2009. Appointed to the Board of Delmege Limited in June 2011.

Honorary Consul of the United Mexican States (Mexico) to Sri Lanka. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport. Member of the Presidential Committee on Maritime Matters. Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Council Member of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon. Member of the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Director, Sri Lanka Port Management & Consultancy Services Ltd.

Former Chairman of the Ceylon Association of Ships’ Agents. Former Director of both the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Jaya Container Terminals Ltd.

Ms. Dinusha Bhaskaran is a financial and accounting professional currently serving as the Managing Director of Vallibel One PLC and Delmege Limited. She also presently serves on the Board of LB Finance PLC as a Non-Executive Director, Hayleys Fabric PLC, Haycarb PLC, and Dipped Products PLC as Alternate Directors to Mr. K.D.D. Perera.

Ms. Dinusha Bhaskaran has previously worked as a Financial Controller with several Australian companies in Melbourne for a number of years. She has in the past served as the Assistant General Manager (Finance & Planning) at Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC.

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK (FCMA), a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA), and an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers, Sri Lanka.

A marketer by profession, Tharana Thoradeniya was in the pioneering batch of Sri Lankans to be awarded the title of Chartered Marketer.

He counts over 20 years of industry experience with a unique working background in Marketing, Technology Management & Manufacturing. He is the Director of marketing & Business Development of Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC and the Chief Executive Officer of Rocell Bathware Ltd. He also serves on the Boards of Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC and Hayleys Fibre PLC.

Mr. Jayaweera has a proven track record spanning over two decades in senior management positions of several John Keells Companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) Mr Jayaweera believes that the qualities of a leader are reflected in the standards they set for themselves. As such he possesses a strong and well-established reputation for adhering to high ethical standards and integrity.

His expertise in Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Hotel Management, Manufacturing, Retail, Audit, and Compliance sets him apart from the rest. He played a pivotal role in the highly successful entry of the John Keells Hotel sector to the Republic of Maldives in 1996, the turnaround of the Keells Super Market chain 2012-2013, and the exponential growth in revenue and profitability of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC which resulted in an unprecedented growth of over 250% in share price during 2015-2017. He has also been a member of the Group Operating Committee (GOC) of John Keells Holding PLC from July 2005 to June 2018.

Mr.. Jayaweera was appointed to the Board of Delmege Ltd as a Non-Executive Director in August 2020.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK (FCMA) Nivran Weerakoon also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of West London UK. Known for his detailed financial expertise and leadership skills he held many senior management positions including the positions of Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer in several private limited companies and in the state sector as a Director of Lanka Electricity Company (Pvt) Ltd. (LECO).

He is the Managing Director of Media Monkey (Pvt) Ltd. and is the Director/CEO of Global Conversions FZ-LLC (UAE). He is a Board Member of Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC, Kasper Global (Pvt) Ltd. Fly Lankan Asia (Pvt) Ltd, and Idea Propulsion Labs Pte Ltd. (Singapore).

He was appointed to the board of Delmege Ltd as a Non-Executive Director in January 2020.

Mr. Dulanjana Silva is a graduate of Computer Science and Engineering and holds qualifications from the National University of Singapore and the University of Sunderland, UK. Having begun his career at the Port of Singapore Authority, he has over fifteen years of experience in senior management overseeing planning, developing, deploying, and supporting a wide range of business systems, IT infrastructure, and digital transformation projects.

At present, he is the Chief Operating Officer at Arimac Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a leading digital transformation agency in the region. He also serves as a Director at Lanka Ceramics PLC, and Rocell Bathware Ltd. and is a member of the Advisory Committee on ICT/BPM at the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Computer Society of Sri Lanka Accreditation Board, and Executive Committee of the Japan Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association.”

Mr. Dualanjana Silva was appointed to the Board of Delmege Ltd as a Non-Executive Director in March 2016.

Ms Brindhini Perera currently serves as a Director on several boards of leading companies such as Lanka Tiles PLC, Lanka Walltiles PLC, Delmege Limited, and Vallibel One PLC which covers a wide range of business verticals spanning lifestyle products, manufacturing, services, and finance.

Ms. Perera holds a Master’s in mechanical engineering from the Imperial College London, covering Manufacturing Technology and Management, Entrepreneurship, Corporate Finance, Statistics, and Mathematics.

A veteran in the Lifestyle Industry, Mr. Nilantha Fernando counts over 40 valuable years with the Delmege Group.

He is an innovative and results-driven CEO with a solid background in marketing, business strategy, valuable contacts, and strong values within the interior design industry. His extensive expertise has contributed immensely to Delmege’s leading market presence and positioning in the Lifestyle landscape. With a keen eye and passion for design aesthetics and a robust understanding of consumer behavior, he has ensured that the product portfolio is contemporary, in vogue, and upmarket.

Nilantha Fernando has successfully led high-impact marketing campaigns and product launches positioning the company at the forefront of innovation in interior design products, emphasizing sustainability, functionality, and elegance.

He has also played a pivotal role in making Delmege Interior a resourceful establishment highly sought after by architects, builders, and homeowners. Known for blending creativity with analytical insights, he drives growth by focusing on customer experience, brand identity, and sustainable practices.

His association with global suppliers and dedication to Interior Décor and Building product clusters have solidified Delmege’s position as a market leader.

A young dynamic professional whose expertise transcends commercial experience. From finance to general management and corporate leadership he has broadened his vistas to also include the highly challenging fields of business restructuring, and development which he specializes in.

His competencies and strong business acumen have helped the Delmege Group to identify new business opportunities, synergies, and acquisitions that have helped annex iconic brands into the portfolio and grow the company exponentially. He serves as an Executive Group Director of Delmege Forsyth and a non-executive Director of Lanka Tiles PLC. His proactive nature and ability to synthesize technical analysis into business insights have seen Delmege Forsyth gaining many firsts and lucrative partnerships.

Mr. Amrith Adhihetty a professionally qualified practicing certified accountant is a full member of CPA, Australia, and holds a B Com and finance degree from the University of Macquarie, New South Wales. Pursuant to completing his studies he worked as a Financial Analyst at Hitachi Data Systems Australia Pty Ltd.

Pubudu De Alwis the Group Chief Financial Officer and Director of Delmege Forsyth and Co Ltd has a long and successful tenure of experience in several leading companies in Sri Lanka overlooking a plethora of business and management functions.

Prior to joining Delmege, Pubudu worked at Brandix from 2011 as the CFO of Brandix Textiles Ltd, a Woven Cotton Fabric Dying and Finishing mill. In 2017, he had a stint as the Acting CEO of the company and successfully steered the company through a transition where the plant was converted into a Synthetic Fabric Knitting mill through a Brandix, Best Pacific (a Hong Kong listed company) joint partnership under the name Best Pacific Textiles Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Since joining the new company in April 2018, he held the position of General Manager – Operations and overlooked all support services such as Finance, HR & Admin, HES, Engineering, IT & Logistics.

Prior to Joining Brandix, he worked at the Hayleys Group for 6 years holding different positions starting from Accountant, and concluding with the key position of Head of Finance and Administration – Agri Products Sector. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and an MBA in finance from the elitist University of Colombo. He is also a FCA of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and completed his training at Ernest & Young before joining the Hayleys Group.

Mr. De Alwis is a past pupil of Thurstan College Colombo. In addition to his academic prowess, he has also excelled in sports being a permanent member of the Cricket team in all age categories.