Rushanka elevated to Deputy Chairman at Sampath Bank, Keshini joins as Independent Director

Rushanka Silva

Deshal De Mel

Keshini Jayawardena

Sampath Bank PLC has announced the elevation of Rushanka Silva as Deputy Chairman (Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director) and Deshal De Mel as Senior Independent Director with immediate effect. 

The bank also announced the appointment of Keshini Jayawardena as Non-Executive, Independent Director with effect from 1 October. 

The bank continues to serve as a champion of gender diversity with leading women from different sectors accounting for around 30% of its Board for more than a decade and a balanced mix of genders across all levels of the organisation. 

The Board of Directors of the bank passed the resolutions on these appointments at the meeting held on 24 September.

A dedicated professional with a background in management accounting, marketing and sales, Silva brings with him experience from across a diverse range of industries. He has been serving as a Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director of Sampath Bank PLC since 1 September 2017. 

He has been actively engaged with and contributing to the strategic planning, credit, marketing, treasury, nomination, capital planning, shareholder relations and IT functions at the bank in this role. He is also the Managing Director of Indra Traders Ltd. and serves as Deputy Chairman of Siyapatha Finance PLC; Non-Executive Director of Sampath Centre Ltd., Indra Motor Spares Ltd., and Indra Property Development Ltd. and Chairman of Braybrooke Residential Properties Ltd., Braybrooke Residential Towers Ltd. and Indra Hotels and Resorts Kandy Ltd.

De Mel is an eminent Economist and was recognised a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2019. He had served on the Board of Directors of Sampath Bank PLC as a Non-Executive Director from 2012 to 2017. He re-joined the bank’s Board on 26 September 2019 as an Independent, Non-Executive Director and has been involved with nomination, related party transactions reviewing, human resources and remuneration, shareholder relations, treasury, marketing, audit, risk management and strategic planning. 

He also serves as a Non-Executive Director of Capital Alliance Investments Ltd. and Research Director of Verité Research Ltd. He was also a Commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka in 2018-2019.

Jayawardena counts over 28 years of experience in banking and finance. She was previously attached to Nations Trust Bank PLC where she served as Chief Operations Officer from 2015 to 2016; Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking from 2011 to 2014 and Deputy General Manager – Leasing and Factoring for 2006 to 2011. Prior to that, she was part of HSBC Sri Lanka’s leadership team for 18 years where she last held the position of Head of Operations.

She is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. She currently serves as an Associate Consultant at Bridge Partnership and The Centre for Inclusive Leadership, both UK-based consultancies with offices around the world. She is also associated with UK-based boutique consultancy, Kinetik Solutions. She holds a BSc. (Econ) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sampath Bank PLC’s Board of Directors becomes further well rounded with these appointments, counting members with expertise from a wide array of sectors and disciplines. Their diverse mix of backgrounds, learnings and experiences is set to power the bank to deliver greater value to all its stakeholders as it embarks on the next phase of its growth journey.