Chairman
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Chairman
Dr. Dissanayake joined the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 15th March 2019. Prior to his appointment as the Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Aitken Spence PLC , he was Secretary to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development. He was appointed as the first non-British International President of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, U.K. founded in 1911 and Royal Charter conferred in 1920. Dr. Dissanayake has also held positions in the past that include, Chairman – Sri Lanka Ports Authority (two stints), Chairman – Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (Sri Lanka), Board Director Urban Development Authority and Board Director of Ceylon Shipping Corporation. During the period June 2004 to May 2017 he served as a Director of Aitken Spence PLC and the Chairman & CEO of its Maritime and Logistics sectors. Dr. Dissanayake is an Alumni of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, NORAD, JICA, Business Alumni of the University of Oxford (UK) and a Fellow of Harvard Business School (EEP). He is also the Co-Chairman of CINEC Campus, Hon. Consul of Fiji Islands and serves as a Professor in Maritime Studies (visiting) at Shanghai Maritime University and Dalian Maritime University.
Managing Director
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Managing Director
Dr. Rohan Fernando was appointed to the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on August 01, 1997 and as Managing Director on May 14, 2004. He is the Managing Director of Aitken Spence Plantation Managements PLC and an Executive Director of Aitken Spence PLC. Dr. Fernando, is currently responsible for the Business Development of the Aitken Spence Group covering sustainability and branding. He has extensive experience in the plantation industry; both in the Public and Private sectors; Corporate management, Corporate strategy and has played a key role in the plantation privatization programme. He was the Chairman of United Nations Global Compact Network, Sri Lanka, a former President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Chapter, a past Chairman of the Planters Association of Ceylon and is currently the President of the Palm Oil Industry Association which comprises growers, processors and refiners in the Palm Oil Industry. He holds a PhD and a MBA from the University of Colombo and is also a Chartered Marketer and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), UK.
Director/ Chief Executive Officer
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Director/ Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Bhathiya Bulumulla, who joined Elpitiya Plantations PLC in February 1999, was appointed as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in July 2011 and as the Chief Executive Officer in July 2013. He was appointed as an Executive Director at Aitken Spence Plantation Managements PLC on 5th July 2016 and joined the Board of Directors of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 2nd July 2018. He also holds the position of Managing Director of Elpitiya Dianhong Jin Ya Tea Company (Private) Limited and Director of EPP Hydro Power Company (Private) Limited and Escape Parks Ceylon (Private) Limited. He possesses over 35 years of experience in the Plantation Sector, out of which for the past 22 years he is serving at Elpitiya Plantations PLC . Mr. Bulumulla actively involved in the expansion of Oil Palm Cultivation and many other diversified projects such as Solar Power Generation, Berry Cultivation, Expansion of Cinnamon cultivation/Value addition on Elpitiya Plantations PLC. He had been instrumental in setting up the Escape Adventure Theme Park jointly with a Malaysian Company and the digitization of the Field Level Activities on EPP’s Plantations and integrating with the Financial Modules. Mr. Bulumulla holds a Diploma in Plantation Management from the National Institute of Plantation Management (NIPM) and holds a B.Sc (Hons) Degree in Plantation Management, awarded by the Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. He also hold a M.Sc degree in Environment Science from the Open University of Colombo. Mr. Bulumulla is a fellow member of the National Institute of Plantation Management (NIPM) and member of the Board of Study of the Wayamba University ‘s External Degree Programme on Plantation management. He is also an honorary member of the Board Directors of the Plantation Human Development Trust and currently holds the position of the Chairman of the Planters Association of Ceylon.
Non-Executive Director
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Non-Executive Director
Deshamanya Merrill J. Fernando was appointed to the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 1st August 1997 as a Director. Deshamanya Merrill J. Fernando is the founder of the MJF Group of Companies and Sri Lanka’s global tea brand, DILMAH. He re-launched Ceylon Tea in the 1980s and was the first tea producer to develop an origin packed, producer owned and genuinely ethical tea brand in any tea, coffee or cocoa producing country. He pioneered value addition, packaging, branding and marketing consumer ready tea from source, enabling Sri Lanka to retain profits which traditionally enriched foreign traders at the expense of tea producers. Dilmah is a model for genuinely ethical trade. Deshamanya Merrill J. Fernando showed producers of raw material the way out of the commodity trap and by maintaining an uncompromising commitment to its founding principles of Quality and Integrity, Dilmah has become a respected international tea brand.
Non - Executive Director
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Non - Executive Director
Mr. Malik Fernando was appointed to the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 1st August 1997 as a Director. Mr. Fernando is a Director of MJF Holdings & Dilmah Tea. Established by Deshamanya Merrill J. Fernando; Dilmah, named after his two sons Dilhan and Malik, was the first producer owned tea brand, offering tea ‘picked, perfected and packed’ at origin. Dilmah is founded on a passionate commitment to quality and authenticity in tea, it is also a part of a philosophy that goes beyond commerce in seeing business as a matter of human service. He is also the Managing Director of Resplendent Ceylon, the first Sri Lankan luxury resort brand. Resplendent Ceylon is developing a collection of small, luxury resorts offer discriminating travelers a remarkable circuit across Sri Lanka, with a range of authentic experiences, while contributing towards local communities & the environment through the MJF Foundation & Dilmah Conservation. Mr. Fernando has a BSc in business management from Babson College in the US
Independent-Non Executive Director
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Independent-Non Executive Director
Dr. Anura Ekanayake was appointed as a Director to the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 9th January 2009. He is a Past Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and of Industrial Association of Sri Lanka. He started his professional career in the public sector and served in a number of senior Sri Lankan Government positions before moving to the private sector. He has held several key positions in the Plantation Sector, first serving as the Director of Planning at the Ministry of Plantation Industries and thereafter as Director General (Development) of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries. He served on the Boards of Janatha Estate Development Board (J.E.D.B.) and Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation (S.L.S.P.C.) prior to their privatization and thereafter served on the Boards of all 23 RPC’s for several years. During this period, he also served as a
Independent Non-Executive Director
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Independent Non-Executive Director
irector to the Board of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 10th April 2013. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and has over 30 years work experience in the fields of financial and treasury management, project evaluation and development, investments, financing and risk management and joint ventures. Mr. Ratwatte has worked in several multinational organizations and conglomerates in Sri Lanka and overseas. Prior to 2009, he has worked at Aitken Spence Group of Companies for a period of 20 years in many capacities including that of Group Treasurer / Director – Aitken Spence Corporate Finance (Private) Limited, Director – Ace Power Embilipitiya (Private) Limited and Director – Aitken Spence (Garments) Limited. He has also served on the board of directors of HNB Assurance PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Non-Executive Director
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Non-Executive Director
Mr. D. A. de S. Wickremanayake was appointed to the directorate of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 2nd October 2017. In addition, he serves as a Director of Aitken Spence Plantation Managements PLC since 18th July 1997 and is a Director of Pelwatte Sugar Colombo PLC as well. Mr. Wickremanayake has wide experience in the corporate sector, having pioneered many companies and served on the board of many others. He is the founder Chairman / Managing Director of Master Divers (Pvt) Ltd, which created a landmark area of activity in the shipping industry. He is the Chairman of Pelwatte Dairy Industries Ltd which produces wide range of dairy products including milk powder and butter using locally produced milk. He also is the Chairman of Mawbima Lanka Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting Sri Lankan goods. He is also a Director of Bogawantalawa Tea Estates PLC. In the state sector, his experience was sought by the Government to help to run the National Livestock Development Board and the State Engineering Corporation where he served as Chairman of these two institutions, at difference times. He is a Member of the University Grant Commission Standing Committee on Agriculture, Veterinary, Medicine and Animal Science, Advisory Board Member of Sabaragamuwa University, Council Member of Ocean University, Faculty Representative for the Faculty of Technology, University of Colombo.
Non-Executive Director
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Non-Executive Director
Mrs. Anusha Dahanayake was appointed as a Director of Elpitiya Plantations PLC on 28th February 2022. Currently she is an Acting Director of the Department of Trade and Investment Policy of the Ministry of Finance. She possesses experience over 17 years in the public sector, including 13 years experience in the Sri Lanka Planning Service and is a Class II Officer of the Sri Lanka Planning Service. Mrs. Dahanayake obtained a B.Sc. General Degree from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka and a Master’s Degree in Applied Science from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She has wide experience at the national level, in the fields of Project Planning and Monitoring, preparation and Monitoring of National Budget. Previously Mrs. Dahanayake was attached to the Department of National Budget and the Department of Trade and Investment Policy in the General Treasury for a period spanning above seven years. Further, she has undergone training and gained experience in countries such as India, Hong Kong, Indonesia and China.