Lalith new Chairman of First Capital, Eardley joins Board

First Capital Holdings PLC has announced the appointment of Lalith de Mel as non-executive Chairman subject to approval by shareholders and the appointment of Eardley Perera as an independent non-executive director.

De Mel is the only Sri Lankan to have been a Director of a top 100 company in the UK having served on the Main Board of Reckitt Benckiser PLC for several years. Currently the Chairman of Hemas Holdings PLC, he has also served as Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and Reckitt Benckiser Lanka, Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and as a Director of John Keells Holdings and People’s Bank.

De Mel holds an MA (Cantab) from the University of Cambridge and has completed the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) at Harvard Business School. He possesses extensive experience in the international business arena having held key positions in several locations worldwide.

His past assignments in the financial sector include his appointment to the main Board of CDC Capital Partners PLC, UK, a ₤ 1 Billion fund owned by the UK Government to finance development projects through equity finance in developing countries. He has also functioned as a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and as a Director of the Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA).

One of Sri Lanka’s best known marketing personalities, Chartered Marketer Eardley Perera serves on the Boards of a number of leading corporate institutions including Janashakthi Insurance PLC, ODEL PLC, Keells Food Products PLC and STING Consultants (Pvt) Ltd. He is the Chairman of M & E Ltd.

A specialist in the areas of strategic marketing and business strategy, Perera possesses extensive experience in general management and marketing in trade and industry. His expertise has been sought as a lecturer on graduate and postgraduate level programmes in these spheres. He also serves on the Boards of a number of reputed educational institutions.

 “The depth of knowledge and experience these gentlemen have to offer would be invaluable to the growth of First Capital,” Group Managing Director Manjula Mathews said.

 “First Capital is well positioned to contribute to the growth of Sri Lanka’s rapidly evolving financial services sector, and these appointments are most timely,”  she added.

Formerly V Capital PLC, First Capital Holdings PLC is a leading financial solutions provider with an extensive product offering ranging from investments in treasury bills and bonds to margin trading, wealth management and corporate debt.

The Group achieved a net profit after tax of Rs 983.4 million and revenue of Rs 1.7 billion for the year ending 31st March 2011.

Consequent to shareholder approval of de Mel’s appointment, the Board of Directors of First Capital Holdings PLC will comprise of Lalith de Mel (Chairman), Manjula Mathews, Dinesh Schaffter, Nihara Rodrigo and A. D. E. I. Perera.