New BOC Chairman Kavan Ratnayaka assumes office

Kavan Ratnayaka, a senior public and private sector figure/official will head the country’s leading state bank the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) as he assumed office as Chairman yesterday.

He takes over from Ronald C. Perera (PC) who served as Chairman of the Bank since January 2023.

Bank of Ceylon CEO Russel Fonseka, together with his senior team members were present to welcome the new Chairman to his new office at the BOC tower in Colombo Fort.  

Ratnayaka has headed a wide cross section of private and public sector entities in finance and banking, telecommunication, technology, tourism and media.  

He currently serves on the Board of KBSL Ltd., and Agility Innovations Ltd., and is a Trustee of the Jayam Wijeratnam Trust and of the Dialog Foundation. 

He has previously functioned as the Chairman of the National Development Bank PLC (NDB), the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the Chairman and Managing Director of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd (ANCL), the Group Chief Corporate Officer of Cargills Ceylon PLC, the Group Chief Corporate Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, the Chief Executive Officer, Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) and as IBM Sri Lanka’s Country General Manager. 

He has also served as a Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), a Council Member of the Employers Federation of Ceylon (EFC), as President of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). 

Ratnayaka holds a Bachelor of Science (Physics) from the University of California, Riverside Campus and is an old boy of Royal College.