Tea expert appointed to run Sri Lanka’s biggest telecom firm
View(s):Rohan Fernando, a veteran in the tea trade, has been appointed as the new Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) chairman, informed sources said on Wednesday.
The new chairman Mr. Fernando has over 40 years of experience in the tea industry and has been involved in developing, promoting and marketing the traditional beverage of tea in many innovative variants over the last several years, the sources said.
In addition to founding his own company, Heladiv, he has served on the Colombo Tea Traders Association as a member.
Mr. Fernando is the husband of Varuni Amunugama who runs the Triad Group of Companies with her co-founder Dilith Jayaweera. The latter is a close associate of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The previous nominee as SLT chief was 75 year-old former UDA chairman Nimal Perera but his name was eventually withdrawn due to an age barrier.
Other state appointed members of the SLT Board of Directors are Ananda Kithsiri Seneviratne, Deputy Secretary to the Treasury; Mohan Weerasekera, PC; Mohan Lalith Seneviratne, Electronics engineer and Ranjith Rubasinghe, former CEO Mobitel.
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to confirm the appointment of previous nominee, Mr. Perera as the new chairman with the shareholder approval, scheduled for January 30 has been cancelled as the new board of Directors has been reconstituted on the recommendation of the Secretary to the Treasury, which owns 49.5 per cent stake in SLT.
(BS)