South Asia Partnership

GOVERNING COUNCIL

Mr Prasanna Premaratne
MSc (Agri) PGD in Bank Mgmt. PGD in International Relations (BCIS)
Chairman

Mr Premaratne joined DFCC Bank in 1991 as a Development Banker, and was involved in financing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for nearly 24 years. He commenced his professional career as a planter at Pelwatte Sugar Industries (PSI) in 1984. He was one of the pioneer members of the management team of PSI. He is also a life member of the Association of Professional Bankers of Sri Lanka. Mr Premaratne retired as the Chairman of the Regional Development Bank in April 2018, having served the bank for over three years. Subsequently he was appointed to the Board of SANASA Development Bank as an Independent Director.

Mr L J K Hettiaratchi
LLB, FCMA, MBCS, CITP, Attorney-at-Law
Board Member​

Mr Hettiaratchi is a multidisciplinary management consultant, and Director of several companies. He has served as a Member of the Council of University of Moratuwa, Member of the National Education Commission and as a Director of Sampath Bank PLC. He has also been the Past President of the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Sri Lanka Branch and has also been a former Country Manager of IBM World Trade Corporation, Sri Lanka.

Ms Kumari Balasuriya
Board Member

Ms Kumari Balasuriya was the Governor of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. She was educated at St Bridget’s Convent and Musaeus College in Colombo and became involved in active politics in 1971. She hails from a family associated with local politics for many generations and is an active well-wisher of the SAPSRI movement.

Mr W M Leelasena
MPhil in Dev Economics (UK), Dip in Dev Economics (UK), BA Hons (Economics) (Sri Lanka)
Board Member

Mr Leelasena is an Economist and has wide experience in the fields of rural development, project planning and management and training. He worked in the public sector holding different positions including the posts of Project Director in Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Project and Rural Economic Advancement Project in Southern Province. He has served as one of the senior advisors of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Colombo and as consultant to many international and local organisations.

Ms Dinithi Ratnayake
BSc in Computer Science (USA), MA in Economics (Sri Lanka)
Board Member

Ms Dinithi Ratnayake is a co-director of IDEAology Strategy Consulting (Pvt) Ltd., a start-up company engaging in Management Consulting, providing advisory services on Strategy and Transformation with a focus on Sustainability. She has 24 years experience in Banking and Finance, including 19 years at Citibank N.A. Sri Lanka, where she was Director, Head of Financial Institutions Group covering Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions including MFIs. She obtained her Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Colombo and Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from University of Houston, Clear Lake, Texas, USA.

Mr Henry De Mel
MSc (Town & Country Planning)
Board Secretary

Mr Henry de Mel has more than 32 years of experience as a development consultant. He has worked with SIDA and NORAD. His expertise is in the field of community development, particularly in project planning, monitoring and evaluation. He has undertaken these tasks in respect of many NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies and donor agencies over a long period of time.

Ms C M S Jayamanna
BCom (Sri Lanka), MA Dev Econ (UK)
Board Member

Ms Jayamanna obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya in 1969 and MA in Development Economics from the School of Development Studies of the University of East Anglia, UK in 1978. She has served in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs of the Government of Sri Lanka from 1970 until 1990. She joined UNDP/Sri Lanka in 1990 and served in the capacity of Assistant Resident Representative (Programme) in charge of Environment and Disaster Management portfolio. Having retired from the UNDP she served as the Chief Executive Officer/Director General of the Central Environment Authority of Sri Lanka. She presently serves as a freelance consultant in environment and disaster management.

Ms Shafinaz Hassendeen
BA Hon (Sri Lanka), MPhil in Dev Stud (UK)
Board Member

Shafinaz Hassendeen was Senior Programme Officer, International Labour Organization (ILO) (1998-2014) and served in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Prior to joining the ILO she was Senior Advisor at the Royal Norwegian Embassy (1979-1998), Programme Director at Worldview International (1995) and Research Officer at Marga Institute (1977-1979). She has a BA Hon. degree in Sociology from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and an MPhil in Development Studies (from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK).

Air Commodore
R K Dehideniya (Rtd)
Attorney-at-Law and Notary Public, Commissioner for Oaths, Company Secretary
Board Member

Ms R K Dehideniya has 40 years of experience in the legal sphere, out of which almost 30 years was in the public service and in the Sri Lanka Air Force serving as the Chief Legal Officer. Prior to this, she was the Deputy Commissioner, Legal of the Agrarian Services Department, and Assistant Commissioner, Legal in the Land Commissioner’s Department. With her wide experience and knowledge, she is presently serving as a Member of the Board of Review of the Agrarian Development Department.

Mr Thivanka Jayasinghe
FCA (SL), ACMA (UK), FMAAT (SL)
Board Member

Mr. Thivanka Jayasinghe is a partner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers Sri Lanka, leading audits in varied sectors and is also the deputy assurance leader of the Firm. He has in total more than 23 years of experience in external audit, internal audit, accounting, restructuring, investigation and other advisory services covering varied jurisdictions. He joined PWC after working at KPMG in the Bahamas.
He was a council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka. He is also a past president of the Institute of Internal Auditors Sri Lanka Chapter. Mr. Jayasinghe recently served as a member of the Financial System Stability Consultative Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka