SriLankan Airlines, the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the prestigious oneworld alliance, has appointed Joshua Bustos as its Chief Commercial Officer and Shaminda Samaraweera as its Chief Financial Officer with effect from April this year.

Chief Commercial Officer

Chief Financial Officer Shaminda Samaraweera

Bustos is an internationally-experienced senior level airline executive with over 20 years of experience. He has held several key positions in leading organisations including American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, South African Airways, Tiger Airways, Sabre Airline Solutions, Safi Airways, and KPMG. He was on the Network Sounding Board and Revenue Management Advisory Board at Star Alliance during his tenure at South African Airways.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Miami. Bustos has also taught continuing education classes at Florida Atlantic University Miami, USA and Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bustos has been selected to the position following a much-sought after interview which included both Sri Lankan and foreign nationals.

Chief Financial Officer Samaraweera holds more than 15 years of senior level corporate experience in many industries including telecommunications, banking and navigation. He has held key positions in leading corporate entities such as Etisalat Lanka Ltd., Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC, Dialog Axiata PLC, and NAVTEQ North America.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa and several Masters’ from North Dakota State University. He is a member of the Chartered Global Management Account (USA) and a fellow of Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK).

SriLankan said it follows a stringent procedure for recruitment which not only takes into consideration the individual’s qualifications but also his/her track record and conduct. Especially when it comes to recruiting foreign nationals, necessary clearance from respective foreign authorities are obtained prior to appointment.

SriLankan Airlines said it is pleased to have Bustos and Samaraweera in its management team and is confident that their expertise and leadership will be vital to make the National Carrier a financially viable business in the years to come.