Corporate Management Team

Ms. D.S.T. Jayawardena

Executive Director
Appointed in July 2014

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena marks several milestones for Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC as the youngest Board Member, and the first female member on the Board. Ms. Jayawardena heads the Tourism sector of Aitken Spence PLC inclusive of hotels, destination management and overseas travel.

With a career spanning over 10 years at Aitken Spence, she wields a fresh perspective in management and leads strategic business units across the Group. She leads several key strategic teams as the Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd., as a member on the Board of Directors of Aitken Spence PLC, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, Stassen Group, Lanka Milk Foods (CWE) PLC, Aitken Spence Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, Western Power Company (Pvt) Ltd. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of Melstacorp PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka in September 2022.

A graduate of St. James’ & Lucie Clayton College and Keele University in the United Kingdom, and Emeritus Institute of Management, Singapore – Ms. Jayawardena made waves from a young age. Ms. Jayawardena was the youngest intern to work under US Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton and the Former US President Bill Clinton in 2003; and was appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador for EY NextGen Club from 2017 to 2019.

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena was appointed to the Executive Board of The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and represents THASL at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Committee since 2019. She is an Executive Committee Member at the International Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka since 2020 and a Steering Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Tourism. She was appointed as Chairperson of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Hotels and Tourism Employers Group for the financial year 2020/21. Ms. Jayawardena is also a member of the PWC NextGen Advisory Board.

Ms. Jayawardena represents the Company as the Ambassador from Aitken Spence PLC at the Target Gender Equality initiative of the UN Global Compact since 2020. She is also a member of the Austrian Business Circle in Sri Lanka.

In recognition of her work and commitment to inspire, she was recognized at Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards in Sri Lanka with a Gold award in the Hotel & Hospitality Sector in 2017, and in 2020 by Sri Lankan business magazine, Echelon, listing her among the most innovative and influential young leaders who have succeeded in business and shaping the future of Sri Lanka.

Ms. Jayawardena became the award recipient of the Expatriate Contribution Award – Gold category by Women in Management Maldives. The Professional and Career Women Awards Maldives 2022 presented this award to Ms. Jayawardena for her exceptional contributions and achievements in the field of Hotel & Hospitality.

Her passion remains in designing the next generation of business with the core values of integrity, sustainability, empowerment, and equal opportunities. She believes driving her business decisions by using data and technology.

Mr. C.M.S. Jayawickrama

Executive Director
Appointed in April 2005

Mr. Susith Jayawickrama has had a career spanning over three decades with Aitken Spence and is the Joint Managing Director of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited, which manages all hotels of the Group. Mr. Jayawickrama serves on the Aitken Spence Group Management Council and on the Boards of most hotel companies in the Group including that of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK; he has more than three decades of experience in senior management positions in the Group’s hotel sector and the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and Overseas. Mr. Jayawickrama is a past Vice President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).

Mr. S.N. De Silva
Mr. Srinith De Silva is the Chief Executive Officer / Vice President of Aitken Spence Hotels’ Oman Sector. He is a Graduate of the Victoria University, Melbourne, and counts many years of experience in international hotel chains such as Raffles Singapore, Sheraton and Stamford Hotels and Resorts. He has over 27 years of experience in the hospitality industry in senior managerial positions handling operations and marketing in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Australia, India and Sri Lanka.

Mr. M.D.B.J. Gunathilake
Mr. Badhiya Gunatilake is the Chief Operating Officer/ Vice President of Aitken Spence Hotels’ Maldives Sector, operating Heritance Aarah, and the Adaaran Resorts. He also serves as a Director of Unique Resorts Private Ltd. He is a Graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School and a professional hotelier counting over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including senior managerial positions, handling hotel operations in Sri Lanka, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Maldives.

Mr. D.J. De Crusz
Mr. Darell De Crusz has had a career spanning over three decades with Aitken Spence, joining Aitken Spence Travels Limited initially in 1989, thereafter transferring to set up Ace Travels & Conventions in 1993. He continued his career at Aitken Spence Travels Limited till 2018 and re-joined the company in 2019 as the Vice President – Sales & Marketing for Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited. With over 34 years of experience in the tourism sector, he possesses a wide knowledge of the travel and hotel industry. Mr. De Crusz holds an MBA from the Open University of Sri Lanka, MA in International Relations from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Mr. P. Pereira
Mr. Patrick Pereira serves as the Vice President of Learning & Development and Rooms Division at Aitken Spence Hotels. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all organizational development initiatives and providing strategic leadership for the rooms division function across all hotels and management offices in Sri Lanka, India, Oman, and Maldives. Mr. Pereira holds an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK and is a graduate of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management. With over twenty years of senior leadership experience in hotel operations, talent development, organizational development, strategic management, and brand deployment, he brings a wealth of expertise to his current position.

Ms. D.R. Alexander
Ms. Dinali Alexander is the Assistant Vice President of Supply Chain for operations in Sri Lanka, the Republic of Maldives, India and the Sultanate of Oman, corporate merchandising and exports operations. Ms. Alexander counts over 15 years of management experience covering procurement, administration, human resources and sustainability, across multiple industries.

Mr. D. Kumarasinghe

Mr. Dimuthu Kumarasinghe has been with the Company for over 21 years and is the Assistant Vice President for Food & Beverage of Aitken Spence Hotels in Sri Lanka, India, the Republic of Maldives and the Sultanate of Oman. He is a world record holder at the Culinary World Olympic Championship held in 2004 and the Culinary World Cup held in 2006. He secured 29 Gold, 5 Silver and 12 Bronze medals for Sri Lanka through International Culinary Competitions. Mr. Kumarasinghe holds the title of President – Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka since 2012 to 2023 and has lead more than 77 participants to secure 68 Gold medals along with many Silver and Bronze medals at the Culinary Olympics and World Cup.

Mr. Kumarasinghe is a jury member for the World Culinary Competitions and a recipient of the Presidential Award in 2007, 2017 and 2018 for outstanding culinary contribution. He holds honorary distinctions including, Honorary Life Member and Head Coach of the Golden Horseshoe Culinary Team Canada, Vatel Club Luxembourg, South Indian Culinary Association, Saudi Arabian Chefs’ Association, Turkey Chefs’ Association, Emirates Culinary Guild and Ukraine Culinary Union.

Mr. C. Athapattu

Mr. Chula Athapattu is the Assistant Vice President of Engineering for Aitken Spence Hotel Managements with responsibilities in local and overseas properties of the Group. He has over two decades of experience in the hotels’ engineering sector.

Mr. Athapattu is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. He holds a B.Sc. Engineering Degree from the University of Peradeniya and an MBA in Infrastructure from the University of Moratuwa.

Mrs. N.M. Pelpola

Mrs. Namalee Pelpola is the Assistant Vice President Corporate Affairs & Compliance of Aitken Spence Hotels. She joined the Company Secretarial division of Aitken Spence Corporate Finance (Private) Limited in 2003 and has handled the company secretarial function and corporate compliance for the companies in the Hotels, Travels and Shipping sectors within the Aitken Spence Group. Thereafter in 2008, she transferred to Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited and handled the HR and Legal functions for all the hotels in the Group. Mrs. Pelpola is an Attorney- at- Law by profession and a Graduate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (UK), with experience in Property Acquisitions and Sales, Joint Ventures and Shareholder Agreements, Human Resource Functions and Company Secretarial Practice.

Mrs. L. Diaz

Mrs. Lucille Diaz is the Assistant Vice President for Branding and PR at Aitken Spence Hotels, where she draws upon her extensive experience of over two decades in travel & hospitality, financial services, advertising, and publishing. She holds an MBA in Marketing with a specialization in Project Management from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing and has achieved the Passed Finalist status with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Additionally, Mrs. Diaz holds a Certificate in Design Thinking from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is a Certified Practitioner of Design Thinking, which she employs as a framework for creative problem-solving.