Financial Times

ODEL (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka’s first department store, has recently appointed two officials to its management team. As of the beginning of August, Arjuna Samaratunga takes over the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) while Nishan Fernando takes charge as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Otara Gunawardena, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ODEL (Pvt) Ltd., commented on the recent appointments by saying in a media statement that, “As we are currently working towards expanding our business, I firmly believe that Arjuna and Nishan’s experience and leadership qualities will prove to be invaluable for the growth of ODEL.”

Arjuna Samaratunga is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Management Accountants (CIMA- UK). He has worked with various organisations throughout his 24-year career in the areas of Finance and General Management, including KPMG Ford Rhodes Thornton & Co, PriceWaterHouse Coopers, James Finlays as well as Intabex Lanka Ltd, where he initially held the position of CFO and then Director/CEO. Prior to joining ODEL, he held the post of CEO of Trendsetters (Pvt) Ltd., an apparel manufacturing company.

Nishan Fernando, who is no stranger to the ODEL brand, was designated CFO after a distinguished period of service to the company. He possesses over 15 years of experience, having worked with Price Waterhouse in India and Singapore, as well as at Hemas Holdings in Colombo. Before being associated with ODEL, he was Acting Chief Financial Officer at Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) where he played an instrumental role in making SLT the first internationally rated company in Sri Lanka.

He was also involved in the success of the International Bond Issue of SLT in 2004, which was another first of its kind in the country.