Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC announces the appointment of a new director board headed by former Urban Development Authority chief and Noritake Company Executive Consultant, Nimal Perera as Chairman, with effect from 24^th January 2020.

Other Directors appointed to the board are Ishan Priyantha Dantanarayana, P. Priyantha Deniyaya, V. Kanagasabapathy and M.K. Pradeep Kumara who will serve in the capacity of Independent Non-Executive Directors.

Nimal Perera is an Executive Consultant to the Board of Directors of Noritake Lanka Porcelain (Pvt) Ltd., (“Noritake”) from 2007 to date and the Chairman of Shore to Shore (Pvt) Ltd., a company engaged in producing of label weaving, box packaging, and garments in IPZ Katonayake

Prior to his current position at Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC, Noritake, Perera held several positions in Noritake Company during the period 1980 to 2007 including the positions of Accountant, Chief Accountant, Asst. General Manager (Finance / Commerce) / Deputy General Manager, General Manager and climbing up to the Director / General Manager and CEO of Noritake Company and its subsidiary Companies.

During his tenure at Noritake Company, the Company won many accolades such as National Productivity Award, Presidential Export Award, 5S AKIMOTO etc.

In addition, he was Chairman of Urban Development Authority ,Lanka Logistics & Technologies Co. Ltd, On’ally Co, Unidep Company, Waters Edge Company Ltd, Sri Lanka Tea Board and State Engineering Corporation.

Further, he has served for a short period in 2018 as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tea Board.

Perera has more than 30 years executive experience in financial management, accounting, internal auditing and general management including stints with R.K. Fryer & Co. Chartered Accountants, United Kingdom as an audit senior and as an Assistant Accountant (prior to joining Noritake) at International Computers Ltd., England formally a blue chip company, which was later taken over by Fujitsu.

Ishan Dantanarayana has over 29 years of human resources and business partnering experience at senior management level.He is currently the Group Chief People Officer and is also a member of the Corporate Leadership Team of the Brandix Group overlooking operations in Sri Lanka & Global and serves the Board of Brandix College.

Prior to Brandix, he was the Senior Director HR – Sri Lanka, Asia & Europe / Global Head Training & Dev. and also was Heading the Global HR Processing Centre of Virtusa (NAZDAQ Quoted). His prior roles included Country HR Manager and Acting Country Manager - DHL Keells and Senior Regional Trainer of DHL International. He has trained nationals in over 40 countries. He was also the HR Head of several prominent multinational Joint Venture companies including a JV with Singapore Telecom.

He is the President of the Association of HR Professionals in Sri Lanka. Additionally, he is a member of the National Committee on Vocational & Technical Training. He also served as a Board Director of the National Skills Development Fund and the Council of Youth Corps affiliated to the Government.

V Kanagasabapathy presently serves as a member of the Finance Commission. He is also the President of the Association of Public Finance Accountants, the public sector wing of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and Past President of the Institute of Public Finance and Development Accountancy and serves as a Chairman of the Public Sector Accounting Standards Committee and member of the Governmental and Public Sector Enterprise Accounting Committee of the South Asian Federation of Accountants.

Kanagasabapathy was the Financial Management Advisor to the Ministry of Finance & Planning and Senior Financial Consultant of the Academy of Financial Studies. He has over forty years of service in the public sector in several senior capacities such as Assistant Director, Deputy Director, Director, Additional Director General, and Director General in the Treasury Departments and Financial Management Reform Coordinator in the Ministry of Finance & Planning.

He served as a member of the Board of Bank Ceylon,People’s Bank, State Mortgage & Investment Bank, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and several other Boards of Public Enterprises. He has also served as Director/Financial Consultant of the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited and Executive Director of Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC.

K. Pradeep Kumara currently serves as the Additional Director General of Trade in Department of Trade and Investment Policy while serving in the Director Boards of West Coast Pvt Ltd, National Insurance Trust Fund and served in Telecom PLC, Litro Gas Ltd, and National Institute of Education etc.

After joining to SLAS in the year 2000, has worked in the Department of National Plaining, Department of Fiscal Policy, Department of Sri Lanka Customs, Ministry of Vocational and Youth Affairs, Department of National Budget, Procurement Monitoring Unit and Department of Trade and Investment Policy. He began his career as an Assistant Lecturer in University of Peradeniya during 1996 to 1999. After that he worked for Department of Inland Revenue as an Assessor.

He undergone several training courses on public finance and economic policies conducted by organizations such as IMF, WTO, World Bank, ADB, ESCAP, USAID etc. overseas and locally.

About Hotel Developers: Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC (HDL) is a 100 % Government Owned, public listed Company owning Hilton Colombo.

On 15th March 1983, Lanka Japan Hotels, a Public Limited Liability Company was incorporated under the Companies Act to implement the Colombo Hilton hotel project. On 20th October 1983, the company changed its’ name to Hotel Developers (Lanka) Limited. In Jan 1984 a Management Agreement was signed with Hilton International to manage the Hotel.

In April 2008 the Company was re- registered as Hotel Developers (Lanka) PLC in terms of the new Companies Act of 2007.In November 2011 the entire shares of the Company was vested with the Government in terms of Revival of the Underperforming Enterprise or Underutilized Assets Act No. 43 of 2011.