New SEC commissioners finally appointed

• Former Commissioner Ranel Wijesinha new Chairman, Rajeev Amarasuriya gets second term

The capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally been reconstituted with top professional Ranel T.Wijesinha appointed as its Chairman.

Wijesinha, who served as a Commissioner previously, replaces Thilak Karunaratne who resigned after completing his three-year term.

The reconstituted SEC now comprises Wijesinha (Chairman), C. Ramachandra, Arjuna Herath, Manjula de Silva, Jayantha Fernando, Rajeev Amarasuriya, Registrar of Companies D.N.R. Siriwardena, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury S.R. Attygalle, CA Sri Lanka President Jagath Perera and Central Bank Deputy Governor C.J.P. Siriwardana.

Lawyer Amarasuriya is the only Commissioner who has been reappointed from the previous regime. Other appointed members who served the previous Commission were Suresh Shah, Marina Fernando and Dilshani Gayathri Wijayawardana.

Wijesinha’s appointment was widely speculated and pending for several weeks. Until earlier this week the position was secured and was awaiting President Maithripala Sirisena’s clearance. There was speculation that the President had proposed National Economic Council CEO and Director General Prof. Lalith Samarakoon to be the new SEC Chairman.

However, yesterday’s announcement of the reconstituted SEC commissioners by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera put the speculation to rest.

Wijesinha, a practicing, independent, international management consultant, with over 35 years of post qualification experience, has a distinctive balance of local and overseas exposure between the private and public sector, between industry and public practice and between accounting, auditing and consulting.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, and a holder of a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania USA. He has also studied, Multinational Corporations and Political Risk Analysis at the University’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Herath is a Partner, Advisory Services at Ernst & Young and former President of CA Sri Lanka. His appointment as well as retention of CA Sri Lanka current President Perera is viewed with interest as former SEC Chief Karunaratne was against the appointment of those in the auditing profession citing possible conflict of interest. 

Fernando is Program Director and Legal Advisor at the ICT Agency and a cyber law expert whilst de Silva is formerly a fund manager and insurance industry. He is also the Chairman of the National Insurance Trust Fund. 

Ramachandra is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) having passed out in 1975 and counts forty three years experience in the fields of Auditing, Tea Exports, Financial Services and Packaging. He is presently the Competent Authority of Hotel Developers PLC, the owning company of the Colombo Hilton. He is also the Chairman of Asia Asset Finance PLC a licensed Finance Company .In addition he currently serves on the Boards of UB Finance Co Ltd, N.Vaitilingam & Co Ltd and Ceylon Galvanising Industries Ltd.