Board Of Directors

Ms. D.S.T. Jayawardena
Chairperson
Appointed in July 2014

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Ms. Jayawardena is graduate of St. James’ & Lucie Clayton College and Keele University in the United Kingdom, Emeritus Institute of Management, Singapore – and an Associate Alumni of University of Cambridge (Judge Business School), United Kingdom.

Experience

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena marks several milestones as the first female Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC and of Aitken Spence PLC in its 156-year history with her appointment as Executive Chairperson in February 2025. She was the youngest and first female board member of Aitken Spence PLC, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, Browns Beach Hotels PLC in December 2013.

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., Deputy Chairperson of Lanka Milk Foods (CWE) PLC., as a member on the Board of Directors of Stassen Group, Melstacorp PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC.

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. She is also a member of the PwC NextGen Advisory Council since the year 2020.

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 served as the Chairperson of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Hotels and Tourism Employers Group for the financial year 2020/21. She was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Colombo International Arbitration Centre, Sri Lanka in January 2025.

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.

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.

Ms. Jayawardena was an award recipient at the Global CEO Leadership Excellence Awards 2024. The Global CEO Awards ceremony honored 50 top-tier CEOs and their teams who met the challenges successfully in turbulent times.

Mr. C.M.S. Jayawickrama
Managing Director
Appointed in March 2026

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. C M S Jayawickrama is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK.

Experience

Mr. Susith Jayawickrama has had a career spanning over three decades with Aitken Spence and is the Managing Director of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, the Hotel investment arm of Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited, which manages all hotels of the Group.

Mr. Jayawickrama serves on the Aitken Spence Group Supervisory Board, the Group Management Council and on the Boards of most hotel companies in the Group . He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK and the Chartered Global Management Accountants. 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. J.M.S. Brito
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointed in July 2001

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. J M S Brito holds a L.L.B. degree from University of London, MBA degree from London City Business School and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of both Sri Lanka and England and Wales.

Experience

Mr. J M S Brito is an acclaimed senior professional in both the private and the public sector industries in Sri Lanka.

He is a former Chairman of DFCC Bank, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, Sri Lankan Airlines and has also served on the Board of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.

Mr. Brito joined the Board of Aitken Spence PLC in April 2000, with a multi-discipline academic background and a wealth of experience from a career counting over 40 years that includes experience working with several international organizations. He was then appointed as the Managing Director of Aitken Spence PLC, in December 2001 and deputy Chairman in April 2003 which position he held until his retirement on 15th March 2019. After retirement, Mr. Brito continues to be a Non-Executive Director of Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC.

Mr. N.J. De Silva Deva Aditya
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointed in July 2010

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. Deva Aditya is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts FRSA established 1754, Research Fellow Loughborough University of Technology, Graduate Royal Aeronautical Society, Member Institution of Mechanical Engineers and holds a Bachelor of Technology Hons University of Loughborough, Professor Beijing University.

Experience

The Honourable N. J. de Silva Deva Aditya (Nirj Deva) Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Deputy Lieutenant for the Lord Lieutenancy of Greater London representing HM King Charles III, Presidential Envoy of Sri Lanka to the EU and the Commonwealth of 56 Nations and Senior Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, former Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons and Member of the European Parliament, joined the Board of Directors of Aitken Spence in September 2006.

He was the first Post War Asian born Conservative Member of the British House of Commons and served in Government as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Scottish Office after which he was elected as the first Asian born British Member of the European Parliament representing over 8 million, British people in Berkshire, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent for 20 years.

He was the Vice President of the International Development Committee for 15 years, overseeing the annual Euro 25 billion European Budget. He was the Chairman of the EU Korean Peninsula Delegation working towards a lasting peace with North Korea, Chairman of the EU China, EU Bangladesh, EU Indonesia, EU Myanmar and EU India Friendship Groups in the EU Parliament and was nominated by his political group ECR to be the President of the European Parliament and was the Chairman of the EU Delegation to the UN General Assembly. He is now the President of the Commonwealth Union; the largest cyber community encompassing the Commonwealth.

For his tsunami relief work he was made MEP of the Year by the European, a Chevalier of the Catholic Church and Vishwa Keerthi Sri Lanka Abhimani by the Buddhist Clergy of Sri Lanka and Gaurav Bharat by India. He is the Publisher of the http://www.commonwealthunion. com the global media platform, the first Commonwealth wide news and TV media reaching out to 2.6 billion people and seen regularly by 18 million. He was appointed Presidential Envoy and Senior Advisor in August 2022.

Mr. C.H Gomez
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointed in April 2025

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. C H Gomez holds a Financial Planning Certificate from the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Experience

Mr. C H Gomez is a former Banker with over 40 years of experience in the finance industry. He has worked for major financial institutions including Barclays Bank PLC, Lloyds TSB Bank PLC and SG Hambros. He brings to the Company a wealth of experience in regard to international financial markets, financial services regulations, compliance and controls and it was through his intervention that major investors were brought into Aitken Spence PLC and to other business sectors in Sri Lanka. Mr. Gomez is a Director as well as a part owner of regulated financial services companies based in Gibraltar. He also serves on the Boards of foreign companies which have investments worldwide.

Mr. Gomez was appointed to the Board of Aitken Spence PLC, in 2002 and to the Board of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, in 2010 and resigned from his position as a director from these companies in 2024 in compliance with the Listing Rules of the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Mr. Gomez was subsequently appointed as a Non- Independent Non-Executive Director to the Board of Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC in April 2025.

Dr. R.A. Fernando
Independent, Non-Executive Director
Appointed in January 2024

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Dr. Ravi Fernando is an Alumni of the University of Cambridge having completed both a Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable business in 2008 and Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership in 2014. He has an MBA from the University of Colombo. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration Degree from the European Business School in 2016.

Experience

He completed the Advanced Management Program at the INSEAD Business School (France) and is an Executive in Residence since 2010. He is a Member of the Board of Study at the Post Graduate Institute of Management (PIM) since March 2023. In April 2020, he created the ‘21st Century Board Leadership Model-MasterClass’© for the Institute of Directors of Luxembourg.

In February 2023, he published ‘21st Century Leadership to Fight the Code Red for Business’ (Archway Publishing USA). His career with multinationals spanned 1981-2007 with Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Smithkline Beecham International covering Africa, Middle East and Asia. He was the first CEO of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology 2008-2011 and Operations Director of the Malaysia Blue Ocean Strategy Institute 2011-2016. He was the first UN Global Compact Focal point 2007 and set up the UNGC Sri Lanka Network.

He serves on the Boards of Global Strategic Corporate Sustainability Pvt.Ltd, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC, Melstacorp PLC, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC, Madulsima Plantations PLC, Balangoda Plantations PLC, Aitken Spence PLC, Browns Beach Hotels PLC, Elpitiya Plantations PLC, UN Global Compact, Ceylon Graphene Technologies Ltd.

In 2007 “Global Strategy Leadership award” was presented to him by Professor Renee Mauborgne of INSEAD at the World Strategy summit.

Mr. M.R. Mihular
Independent, Non-Executive Director
Appointed in December 2024

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. Mihular is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) – UK.

Experience

Mr. Mihular served as the Managing Partner of KPMG Sri Lanka & the Maldives from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2022 and was the Chairman of KPMG’s Middle East & South Asia (MESA) Regional Cluster during the period 1st October 2018 to 30th September 2021. Reyaz previously served a term as the Chief Operating Officer of the MESA regional office. He also served on KPMG’s Europe Middle East & Africa (EMA) Board and on the Global Council of KPMG International.

Mr. Mihular is a Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He also served as the Chairman of the CIMA Sri Lanka Board. Riyaz has completed International Executive Education programmes at INSEAD, France, Harvard Business School and the London Business School, UK.

Mr. Mihular served as a Board Member of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) from 1996 to 2000. Subsequently, he served on the IASC’s Standing Interpretations Committee and as a Member of the IFRS Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board. He also served as a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) from 2012 to 2018.

Mr. Mihular presently serves as Chairman of Watawala Plantations PLC and Bairaha Farms PLC and as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Aitken Spence PLC, Sunshine Holdings PLC, Melstacorp PLC, Balangoda Plantations PLC, Madulsima Plantations PLC, Sunshine Teas (Pvt) Ltd, Lonach Dairy (Pvt) Ltd, Agility Innovation (Pvt) Ltd, DAMRO Holdings Ltd and LTL Holdings Ltd. He also serves as a Member of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Peter Englisch
Independent, Non-Executive Director
Appointed in December 2024

Qualifications and Areas of Expertise

Mr. Peter Englisch holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and multiple certifications such as Certified Public Accountant (WP), US-CPA, and Certified Family Business and Family Wealth Advisor (CFBA / CFWA).

Experience

Mr. Peter Englisch is a seasoned executive with over three decades of experience in the fields of family business advisory, assurance, and tax services. Mr. Englisch has established himself as a thought leader and trusted advisor in the industry.

Throughout his career, he has held significant leadership roles at prestigious firms like EY and PwC, where he led global initiatives and established centers of excellence for family businesses. He has also contributed to academia as an Executive in Residence at IMD Business School and founded his own consulting firm, Peter Englisch Consulting GmbH & Co. KG.

Mr. Englisch’s expertise spans across supporting family-owned businesses with succession planning, NextGen development, governance, and growth strategies. He is also well-versed in advising High Net Worth Individuals and Family Offices on long-term investment strategies, impact investing, and philanthropy.

Recognized for his contributions, Mr. Englisch has been inducted into the Family Business “Hall of Fame” and named one of the Top 10 Global Family Enterprise Advisors by Family Capital Magazine. He is a regular speaker at international conferences and has cofounded the Center for Family Business at the University of St. Gallen.