Edgar Gunatunga passes away

Friday, 21 November 2014 01:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Senior business leader and veteran banker Edgar Gunatunga passed away yesterday. He was a former Chairman of Sampath Bank and was serving as Chairman of Tokyo Cement Lanka Plc. Prior to Sampath Bank, Gunatunga was the Managing Director of Commercial Bank where he had a long career starting as a junior clerk in 1954 when it was known as a the Eastern Bank. Gunatunga, having possessed many years of professional experience in the banking industry, joined Team Sampath on 17 December 1991 as the Deputy Chairman/Managing Director. Having functioned in the capacity of Deputy Chairman/Managing Director for over five years, he was appointed as a Non-Executive Director to the Board in January 1997. On 24 September 1998, Gunatunga was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank. He relinquished his duties as the Chairman of Sampath Bank PLC on 30 September 2008. His wealth of knowledge in banking paved the way for the great success of Sampath Bank and strengthened its position in the industry. At Tokyo Cement he was first appointed to the Board in 1997 and served as Chairman since February 2007. An alumnus of St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena, Gunatunga had served the plantations and packaging industry as well as Chairman of Kahawatte Plantations, and Star Packaging Ltd.