New SLID chairman says public institutions are important
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Mr. Faizal Salieh
Sri Lanka’s new chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) has emphasised the importance, value and relevance of the country’s public institutions.
“We need to build and strengthen them and enable their journey with sustained good governance despite the challenges. We are prepared to offer our services and work with the Government in this regard,” said Faizal Salieh who was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) for the year 2021/22 at its fully virtual Annual Membership Meeting held on August 11.
In recognition of this need, he told the AGM that SLID rulebooks in 2011 were amended to allow directors of public sector institutions and enterprises to become members and benefit from the various training, advisory and networking services.
The new chairman is a veteran banker with many years of leadership experience as a Board director across several industries in banking, insurance, fund management, stockbroking, trading, manufacturing, and education, SLID said in a media release.
Aroshi Nanayakkara and Dinesh Weerakkody were elected as Senior Vice Chairperson and Vice Chairman respectively. Prakash Schaffter, Vish Govindasamy, Dilshan Rodrigo, Nadija Tambiah,. Aruni Rajakarier, Ravi Abeysuriya, Manohari Abeyesekera and Charaka Perera were elected to the Governing Council with Rasakanth Rasiah, the Immediate Past Chairman serving, in an ex-officio capacity.
The release said that outgoing Chairman, Mr. Rasiah, acknowledged the contributions and initiatives made by the Council during his term of office amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Salieh paid a glowing tribute to all the past chairmen of SLID for their leadership of the Institute since its inception in 2000. He specifically mentioned that Mr. Rasiah and the Council had held the reigns remarkably well under tough operating conditions. He spoke about the key initiatives launched by the Institute to build leadership calibre at the Board level.
He urged all company Boards to increase the admission of women and to take pride in making disclosures on this in their company annual reports. “We believe that is a much preferable option to legally mandating. We also need to create Male Champions in every company for promoting women on Boards,” he said, according to the release.
Mr. Salieh said: “Corporate governance is a strategic imperative and not just a matter for compliance. Governance today is not just about technology. It’s about balance, judgement, ethics and selecting the right people. As business models move away from linear to disruptive models, directors have to sharpen and widen their knowledge and skills to cope with the new challenges.”