Karannagoda joins Dilith’s Colombo Land Board

Rear Admiral W.K.J. Karannagoda, former Navy Chief and currently Ambassador in Japan, has joined the Board of Directors of Colombo Land and Development Company Ltd. with effect from yesterday.

Colombo Land is controlled by advertising industry icon turned stock market investor and entrepreneur Dilith Jayaweera in partnership with original Singapore investors. Before serving as the Commander Karannagoda commanded four Operational Naval Commands on seven occasions.

          

 He has the distinction of being the only officer to be considered to the highest seating of the Commander of the Navy straight from a Naval Area Command. When he retired from his post on 15 July 2009, he was made the Advisor to the President on National Security.

After assuming command of the Navy, he changed the modus operandi of Sri Lankan Navy operations by increasing deep sea operations against LTTE arms. This ensured the success of naval operations against the LTTE with the destruction of over eight LTTE ships within a year.

He possesses a Masters in Business Administration as well as in Defence Studies. He is also a member of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Nautical Institute of the United Kingdom. Admiral Karannagoda is a product of Ananda College, Colombo.

During his years in the Navy he was awarded the Rana Sura Padakkama medal, the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, the Uttama Seva Padakkama service medals and several other service and campaign medals including the Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal, North and East Operations Medal, Purna Bhumi Padakkama, Riviresa Campaign Services Medal, Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal, Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal, President’s Inauguration Medal and the 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal.

He is an alumnus of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii, the Near East-South Asia Centre for Strategic Studies at the National Defence University in Washington D.C., the Royal Naval Staff College in the United Kingdom and the National Defence College of Pakistan.

After the conclusion of Eelam War IV and the demise of the LTTE, he was awarded the rank of Admiral by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in recognition of his contribution.