Accomplished Strategic Management Professional Ruminda Randeniya has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the parent company of Prime Group, Prime Lands (Pvt) Ltd., with effect from 1^st January 2023. He counts more than 23 years’ experience in the real-estate sector.

A former student of Ananda College, Colombo 10, Ruminda excelled in athletics whilst being an active participant in many extra-curricular activities in school. “I joined Prime Lands (Pvt) Ltd., in 2000 as a school leaver and gained a vast experience in the real-estate business under the guidance of the founders of Prime, Mr. Brahmanage Premalal and Mrs. Sandamini Perera,” said Ruminda.

He has held many senior management positions, including Senior Manager, Assistant General Manager, General Manager and Deputy CEO. Currently he is a Director of Prime Lands (Pvt) Ltd., and its affiliate Bhoomi Realty Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. He is also the General Manager of the Real Estate Division of Prime Lands Residencies PLC. He is also a Director of Regent Country Club (Pvt) Ltd., and Regent Caterers (Pvt) Ltd., which are managed by Prime.

Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of the Prime Group, Mr. Brahmanage Premalal said, “He has shown exceptional performance in the real-estate business. His strength lies in his unique ability to recognize potential properties for development in many parts of the country and now internationally, executing winning strategies to profitably market them in the real-estate sector and providing guidance and direction in the hospitality sector.”

Ruminda holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka and a Diploma in Marketing from the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM).

INSEE Cement, Sri Lanka's Number 1 cement brand and member of the Siam City Cement Public Company Limited (SCCC) of Thailand, announced the appointment of Jan Kunigk as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of 01 January 2023, marking the beginning of a new year with a change of guard in the company. With his appointment, Jan replaces Nandana Ekanayake, who while retiring from his position as CEO will continue as Chairman of the company.

Jan took on responsibilities as INSEE Cement Sri Lanka’s Executive Vice President in 2017, and also functioned as the company’s Commercial Director, responsible for Marketing, Sales, Products & Solutions, Innovation, and External Affairs. In his new role, Jan will strengthen INSEE Cement’s position as industry leader, address pressing industry and market challenges, promote INSEE Cement’s culture of innovation and the company’s stewardship towards sustainable, green construction solutions that are “Made in Sri Lanka”, and explore untapped opportunities to grow beyond cement and concrete in a rapidly evolving construction industry.

Jan’s well-established career in the construction and building materials industry is anchored to his tenure at the Swiss Based Holcim Group, where he held a number of strategic leadership positions including Regional Head – Strategy & Business Development for South Asia/ASEAN region, and the post of Senior Vice President at Holcim Indonesia just prior to joining INSEE Cement, where he was responsible for revenues exceeding USD 1 Bn. Before joining Holcim, Jan worked in management consulting. Jan holds a Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Western Illinois University (USA) and a Diploma in European Business Studies from Bamberg University, Germany, concluding as Diplom Kaufmann. He has participated in various Executive Management Programs at IMD Lausanne (Switzerland), and Chicago Booth School of Business (USA).

Standard Chartered Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Bingumal Thewarathanthri was elected as the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Banks’ Association (SLBA) with immediate effect, at a recently concluded meeting of the SLBA Board of Directors.

Prior to his appointment, Bingumal was a Vice Chairperson and Board Director of the Association.

An industry veteran, Bingumal, better known as Bingu, has an extensive 30 years of experience in the banking and finance sector. Having joined Standard Chartered in 2004, he has held several leadership positions in Sri Lanka and Africa, including the role of Head, Transaction Banking, Mauritius.

In Sri Lanka, Bingu was Head, Retail Banking and a key member of the Standard Chartered Sri Lanka Country Management Team prior to his appointment as CEO and was instrumental in elevating the business channel and delivering impressive revenue growth. He is also a Board Member of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

The Sri Lanka Banks' Association is as umbrella body that unites Sri Lankan banks, with an aim to support all stakeholders in creating sustainable value. Bingu succeeds Kapila Ariyaratne, who stepped down as Chairperson in anticipation of his retirement.

Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited has announced that Alan Smee has assumed duties as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Country Manager of the Company, with effect from 1st November 2022. Mr. Smee has served on the Board of Directors of Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited since June 2015, having also served as Chairman of the Board from March to October 2022. Alan Smee is replacing Gany Subramaniam, who has moved into a new role at Allianz Asia Pacific’s regional office.

Alan has built a long and illustrious career with Allianz, globally, having commenced his journey with the insurance giant as a Senior Actuary in 1999 at Allianz Australia, with a brief intermission from August 2003 to August 2006, during which time he served as a Director at Ernst & Young Australia.

Alan Smee spent time at Allianz Headquarters, as Head of Pricing in Global P&C from 2006 to 2008, involved in the transformational Sustainability project. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Smee was the Head of Retail P&C and then the Head of Technical for Allianz Turkey. He was instrumental in transforming Allianz Turkey into one of the most profitable P&C insurers in that market, achieving phenomenal increases in market share.

More recently he has been serving in the Allianz Asia Pacific Region, most recently as the P&C Technical Head. He has also sat on various Committees and Boards, and has led many very successful regional conferences and online broadcasts. He has successfully executed many valuable projects including regional pricing, midcorp business, strategic studies, integration activities and IT projects.

Mr. Smee is a consummate insurance professional and is a Fellow of the Actuaries Institute of Australia, while also holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and a Master’s in Applied Statistics from Macquarie University, Australia.

Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd. and Allianz Life Insurance Lanka Ltd., known together as Allianz Lanka, are fully-owned subsidiaries of Allianz SE, a global financial services provider with services predominantly in the insurance and asset management businesses, headquartered in Munich, Germany. The global strength and solid capitalization of the Allianz Group, coupled with local expertise and business know-how, have been Allianz Lanka’s powerful formula for success.

Sunshine Healthcare has appointed Mr. T. Sayandhan as the Chief Executive Officer of Lina Manufacturing, the pharmaceutical manufacturing segment of the diversified company. Sayandhan, currently CEO of Sunshine Medical Devices, has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. He joined Sunshine Healthcare in 2017 to spearhead Sunshine Medical Devices and has been instrumental in growing the healthcare business to be the key driver of the Group’s financial performance, helping Sunshine Healthcare to sustain its growth over the few years amidst tough macroeconomic conditions.

Commenting on the new appointment, Sunshine Healthcare Managing Director Shyam Sathasivam said, “As a responsible Sri Lankan conglomerate, we believe the local production of pharmaceuticals plays a vital role in maintaining the resilience of national healthcare systems. When escalating macroeconomic conditions are putting immense pressure on the local healthcare sector, producing pharmaceuticals locally will facilitate access to needed medicines and decrease exposure to imports and international supply chains. At this critical juncture, I believe Sayandhan has demonstrated the right combination of talent and drive to step into this key leadership role at the company.”

Commenting on his appointment, Sayandhan said, “It is a challenging yet exciting time to join Lina Manufacturing when the company is advancing its efforts to develop Sri Lankan-made, innovative healthcare solutions. For over a decade, Lina manufacturing has used its R&D acumen to develop pharmaceutical products for both the public and private sectors. I am honored and look forward to leading the Lina team to further diversify its locally produced pharmaceuticals portfolio and help widen access to quality medicine to all Sri Lankans.”

Sayandhan started his career with GlaxoSmithKline, where he served for more than ten years as a Medical Rep, Hospital Coordinator, Product Executive, Brand Manager and Category Manager. He then took on an enhanced role at Hemas Pharmaceuticals, serving as Country Manager for Allergan and Abbott Medical Optics. Before joining Sunshine Healthcare, he was the Chief Executive Officer – Healthcare Cluster and Director at Delmege Forsyth. Sayandhan, an Executive Committee Member of Sunshine Holdings PLC, holds an MBA from the University of Peradeniya and is currently reading for his doctorate. Sayandhan is also a Fellow of the Charted Institute of Marketing (UK), Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing and the Institute of Management Sri Lanka.

Lina Manufacturing is Sri Lanka’s first Respiratory Care Research and Manufacturing facility. It manufactures a range of respiratory pharmaceuticals and devices, including Beclovent, Flutivent, Salbuvent, Prazolin, Winterpan and the award-winning Ventohaler inhalers. Lina Spiro is the latest venture focusing on manufacturing the newest technology, metered-dose inhalers (MDI) for respiratory care. It is the only such manufacturer certified to WHO-GMP standards in Sri Lanka, opening doors to international exports.

Image Caption : T. Sayandhan