Acuity Partners announces new Chairman, 2 new Independent Directors

Thimal Perera, who presently serves as Director/CEO of DFCC Bank PLC, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Acuity Partners Ltd., a full-service investment bank that is an equally owned joint venture between DFCC Bank and Hatton National Bank. 

Alongside this, the Board of Acuity Partners welcomed two new Independent Non-Executive Directors, Lalith Withana and Sachith N. Perera. These new appointments will help to further strengthen the Board of Acuity Partners, particularly in the areas of Audit and Risk Management.

Acuity Partners offers a comprehensive suite of products and services that include Corporate Finance, Equities, Fixed Income Securities, Venture Capital Services and Asset Management. 

A distinguished banker and DFCC Bank Director/CEO Perera assumed duties as Chairman of Acuity Partners on 1 January 2022. Perera has over two decades of experience in the financial services and banking sector, nationally and internationally. He has also served as the Deputy General Manager of Hatton National Bank, where he guided the retail and SME banking sector. He has also worked with HSBC, in Sri Lanka and abroad, the Commercial Bank of Qatar and Barclays Bank PLC in the UAE. During his tenure at HSBC, he was the Regional Head of Cards and Digital Channels overseeing the Middle East and North Africa Regions. At Barclays Bank, he served as the Director of Retail Products and Business Banking in the UAE. At HNB, Perera also served as a board member of HNB Assurance, HNB General Insurance, and HNB Grameen Ltd. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a passed finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK.

Withana is a senior and highly respected professional who has held management positions in the corporate sector for over 25 years, including senior management positions in banking, manufacturing and trading. He has worked with many organisations, including the Brandix Group, Ernst and Young, Amsterdam Rotterdam Amro Bank, IBM World Trade Corporation, Carson Cumberbatch, Ceylon Tea Services Ltd., and Yamaha Corporation USA. 

He has served as the Group Chief Finance and Administrative Officer for SriLankan Airlines and CEO of SriLankan Catering. He is presently serving as the Founder/Managing Director of Agility Consulting Services Ltd., and also as a Director of Laughs Gas PLC, Laughs Maritime Services Ltd., Softlogic Life Insurance PLC and HNB Finance PLC. He holds an MBA from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Hons from the University of Manchester Metropolitan – UK.  Withana is also a fellow member of both the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA) UK and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (FCA). He is also a Project Management Professional of the Project Management Institute (PMI) – USA. 

Sachith N. Perera is a respected professional in the banking industry, having served over 26 years at HSBC, 12 of which were in the capacity of Treasurer and Head of Global Markets for HSBC Sri Lanka and the Maldives. In this role, he was responsible for the bank’s forex and rates management, derivatives trading, balance sheet management and custodial services for foreign investors in local equities. Perera also served as a member of the Executive, Balance Sheet Management, Risk Management and Compliance committees at HSBC. In 2017, he chose early retirement from HSBC to pursue other business interests in real estate and hospitality. 

The new board appointments and the continued support and collaboration of the two key shareholders are helping Acuity Partners to strengthen its position within the industry and continue to expand its footprint within the investment banking sector, helping to position itself among Sri Lanka’s leading investment banks. 

With the new appointments, the Board of Directors of Acuity Partners comprises of Chairman Thimal Perera, Managing Director Ray Abeywardena, Rajive Dissanayake, Damith Pallewatta, Sanjay Wijemane, Lalith Withana, and Sachith N. Perera.