Rushanka Elevated to Deputy Chairman at Sampath Bank, Keshini Joins as Independent Director

Sampath Bank PLC announced the?elevation?of?Rushanka Silva as Deputy Chairman (Non-Independent,?Non-Executive Director)?and Deshal De Mel as?Senior Independent Director with immediate effect.?The Bank also?announced the appointment of Keshini Jayawardena as?Non-Executive, Independent Director?with effect from?01 October?2020.?The Bank continues to serve as a champion of gender diversity with?leading women from different sectors accounting for around 30% of its?Board?for more than a decade?and?a?balanced?mix?of genders across all levels of the organisation. The Board of Directors of the Bank passed the?resolutions?on these appointments at the meeting held on 24 September 2020.

A dedicated professional with a background in Management Accounting, Marketing and Sales, Rushanka brings with him experiences?from?across a diverse range of industries.?He?has been serving as a Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director of?Sampath?Bank?PLC?since 01 September 2017.?He has been actively engaged with and contributing to the?Strategic Planning,?Credit,?Marketing,?Treasury, Nomination, Capital Planning, Shareholder Relations?and?IT?functions?at the Bank?in this role.?He is also the?Managing Director of Indra Traders (Pvt) Ltd?and serves as Deputy Chairman of Siyapatha Finance PLC; Non-Executive Director of Sampath Centre Limited,?Indra Motor Spares (Pvt) Ltd, and Indra Property Development (Pvt) Ltd?and Chairman of Braybrooke Residential Properties (Pvt) Ltd, Braybrooke Residential Towers (Pvt) Ltd and Indra Hotels and Resorts Kandy (Pvt) Ltd.

Deshal is an?eminent Economist?and?was?recognized a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2019.?He had?served on the Board of Directors of Sampath Bank PLC as a Non-Executive Director from 2012 to?2017.?He?re-joined?the?Bank?s?Board?on 26 September 2019 as an Independent, Non-Executive Director?and has been involved with Nomination, Related Party Transactions Reviewing, Human Resources and Remuneration, Shareholder Relations, Treasury,?Marketing, Audit, Risk Management and Strategic Planning.?He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Capital Alliance Investments (Pvt) Ltd and Research Director of?Verit?Research (Pvt) Ltd. He was also a Commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka in 2018 – 2019.

Keshini?counts over 28 years of experience in?Banking?and Finance.?She was previously attached to Nations Trust Bank PLC where she served as?Chief Operations Officer from 2015 to 2016;?Deputy General Manager ??Retail and SME Banking from 2011 to 2014 and?Deputy General Manager ? Leasing and Factoring for 2006 to 2011. Prior to that, she was part of HSBC Sri Lanka?s leadership team for 18 years where she last?held?the position of Head of Operations.?She is a?Solicitor?of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.?She currently serves as an Associate Consultant at Bridge Partnership and The Centre for Inclusive Leadership, both UK-based consultancies with offices around the world. She is also associated with UK-based boutique consultancy, Kinetik Solutions.?She holds a BSc. (Econ) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sampath Bank PLC?s Board of Directors becomes further well rounded?with these appointments, counting members with expertise from a wide array of sectors and disciplines.?Their diverse mix of backgrounds, learnings and experiences is set to power the Bank to deliver greater value to all its stakeholders?as it embarks on the next phase of its growth journey.