Two new board appointments to SriLankan

Consultant Physician Prof. Arjuna de Silva and private sector professional Johann Wijesinghe have been appointed to the board of ailing SriLankan Airlines, which is currently undergoing a three-year restructuring programme under a new director board. 

Prof. de Silva and Wijesinghe join the newly appointed board comprising of Mano Tittawella, Susantha Katugampala, Dr. Roshen Perera, and Air Marshal Kapila Jayampathy and chaired by senior banker Ranjit Fernando.  Wijesinghe is the Managing Director of Alufab PLC, a Hayleys group company and the head of the group’s aviation sector. 

He is also on the board of 17 other private companies.

Interestingly, Wijesinghe had previously served at SriLankan Airlines for nearly two decades.

He left SriLankan Airlines in 2008 with the exit of Emirates management and joined a company under Hayleys where he was responsible for freight forwarding as well as airline passenger handling operations. 

Prof.de Silva, who is also the current Chairman of Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency is a former chairman of George Steuart Finance and had also been a director of the Consumer Affairs Authority.

He is a consultant physician by profession in addition to being a university don and a sports medicine expert.

He has been a physician at international sporting events, including the London Olympics and is a member of the medical advisory panel of Sri Lanka Cricket since 2015.