First Capital Holdings has announced the appointment of Deshamanya Lalith de Mel as non-executive Chairman subject to approval by shareholders and the appointment of Eardley Perera as an independent non-executive Director.
Deshamanya Lalith De Mel is the only Sri Lankan to have been a Director of a top 100 company in the UK having served on the Main Board of Reckitt Benckiser for several years. Currently the Chairman of Hemas Holdings, he has also served as Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom and Reckitt Benckiser Lanka, Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and as a Director of John Keells Holdings and People’s Bank.
Lalith de Mel possesses extensive experience in the international business arena having held key positions in several locations worldwide. His past assignments in the financial sector include his appointment to the main Board of CDC Capital Partners, UK. He has also functioned as a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and as a Director of the Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA).
Chartered Marketer Eardley Perera serves on the Boards of a number of leading corporate institutions including Janashakthi Insurance, ODEL, Keells Food Products and STING Consultants. He is the Chairman of M & E.
A specialist in the areas of strategic marketing and business strategy, he possesses extensive experience in general management and marketing in trade and industry. His expertise has been sought as a lecturer on graduate and postgraduate level programmes in these spheres. He also serves on the Boards of a number of reputed educational institutions.
“The depth of knowledge and experience these gentlemen have to offer would be invaluable to the growth of First Capital,” said Manjula Mathews, Managing Director of the group. “First Capital is well positioned to contribute to the growth of Sri Lanka’s rapidly evolving financial services sector, and these appointments are most timely.”
