Lanka Rating Agency appoints Dinesh Weerakkody to Board

Monday, 4 August 2014 00:17 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

  • Three esteemed professionals appointed to the Rating Committee
Lanka Rating Agency Ltd., (LRA) formerly known as RAM Ratings Lanka has a technical alliance with CRISIL India a Standard & Poor’s Company, has appointed Dinesh Weerakkody to its Board of Directors. Dinesh Weerakkody was formerly the Chairman of Commercial Bank of Ceylon. Over the years he has been a part of many government and private sector listed boards and was an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2002-2004. Weerakkody has served in many Cabinet Sub-Committees and national level committees on Economic Affairs, International Affairs and Labour Management.   He is a Graduate in Business Administration, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants United Kingdom (CIMA), Fellow Member of the Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA), Professional Member of the Singapore Human Resource Institute and has obtained an MBA from the University of Leicester, England. He has been on the Sri Lankan Board of GlaxoSmithKline Sri Lanka since 2000 and is Chairman of Cornucopia Lanka Ltd. and Director/Advisor of Cornucopia Bangalore, India.  Preethi Jayawardena chairman of LRA welcomed the appointment saying Dinesh with his expertise will add value to the company going forward. Furthermore, LRA was formed to uplift the capital market in Sri Lankan with a national interest and national name is happy to announce for the first time in Sri Lanka the appointment of elite professionals to its rating committee, headed by Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya as the Chairman of the Rating Committee. This is in line with the true domestic rating agency concept across Asia, Middle East, Europe and South America and, to give better local insights to the ratings which will lead to more robust and stable ratings. National domestic rating agencies have been the pillar in capital market development in Asia, which have grown to become major rating agencies across Asia such Rating Agency Malaysia (RAM), Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL). Domestic Rating agencies with national interest have taken the lead role in capital market development in their respective jurisdiction. Preethi Jayawardena Chairman of LRA said this is the first time a local rating agency in Sri Lanka has appointed   esteemed professionals to the rating committee to become a truly Sri Lankan rating agency with local insights and global expertise where standards have been kept and will be will be maintained to the highest level to be at par with any global rating agency. Dr.Dayanath Jayasuriya , PC – Chairman of the Rating Committee Dr. Dayanath Jayasuriya (LLB (Ceylon), Ph.D. (Colombo), is a Fellow of the International Compliance Association (UK), Hony. Fellow of the Society for the Advanced Study of Law (UK) and a Member of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Dr. Jayasuriya was the Director General and CEO of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka and held these posts until 2003. In 2004 he was appointed as the Chairman of both these regulatory bodies. Dr. Jayasuriya is the Founder Chairman of the South Asian Insurance Regulators’ Forum. In 2005 he served as the Chairman of the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO) President’s Committee.  Dr. Jayasuriya has been a Senior State Counsel in the Attorney-General’s Department and a Director of the Public Utilities Commission, the Public Enterprises Reform Commission, the Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board, the National Procurement Agency and a Trustee of the Construction and Guarantee Fund. Over a period of 20 years he worked for the UN and international organisations covering more than 40 countries. Dr. Jayasuriya has been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and has lectured at many leading universities including Oxford University and Cambridge University. Russell De Mel – Member of the Rating Committee De Mel, having  been with NDB for over 30 years, retired as the Bank’s Director/Chief Executive Officer in August 2013.  Prior to his appointment as CEO he served as Vice President – Head of the Corporate Banking Group and as Vice President – Head of Group Risk Management. De Mel is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (FCMA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) & a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (FCMA), Sri Lanka. de Mel was also awarded a Lifetime accolade by the International Finance Magazine, UK, for his outstanding contribution to the Banking Sector. At present he is a member of the Board of Directors of Regional Development Bank, Richard Peiris Securities PLC, Housing Development Finance Corporation, Maldives Islands. V. Kanagasabapathy – Member of the Rating Committee Kanagasabapathy was a member of the Board of Bank Ceylon as an Alternate Director to the Ex officio Director on the Board from 2006 to 2013. He brings more than 40 years of experience in the public sector, having served in several senior positions including Director/Additional Director General of Public Finance, Director General of Public Enterprises and Financial Management Reform Coordinator and Financial Management Advisor of the Ministry of Finance & Planning. He also served as a Director of People’s Bank, State Mortgage & Investment Bank, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC, MCSL Financial Services Limited, Lanka Hydraulic Institute Limited and as the Chairman of the Distance Learning Centre and also as a Senior Financial Consultant of the Academy of Financial Studies, which is the training arm of the Ministry of Finance & Planning. He is a Council Member of the Institute of Public Finance and Development Accountancy, President of the Association of Public Finance Accountants of Sri Lanka and a former Member of the National Salaries and Cadres Commission. He is currently advisor to the Hotel Developers Lanka PLC. Kanagasabapathy holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), the Institute of Public Finance and Development Accountancy, the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) and the Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka (AAT).  

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