Parakrama Dissanayake steps down from State post
View(s):Less than six months into the job, Parakrama Dissanayake, a veteran in the maritime industry, will be resigning as the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Southern Development by the middle of next month, to take up a new position as Deputy Chairman/Managing Director of the Aitken Spence Group.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Dissanayake was serving as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (his second stint) and Chairman of Hambantota International Ports Services Ltd, the joint venture between SLPA and the CMPort of China.
Having started his shipping career as Head of Marketing of the Ceylon Shipping Corporation, he joined the private sector as the Managing Director of Pership Shipping Ltd., and later on, the Aitken Spence Group where he was a main board director. He will assume office as Deputy Chairman/Managing Director of the group on March 15, replacing Rajan Brito who will be retiring after a long spell in the group.