Board Of Directors

Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe | Chairman

Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe was appointed as the Chairman of HNB FINANCE PLC in August 2026.

He joined the Board of HNB FINANCE PLC in February 2024 as a Nominee Director of Hatton National Bank PLC. He brings nearly three decades of senior-level experience spanning information technology, telecommunications engineering, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, enterprise systems, corporate governance, risk management and regulatory oversight. He has held senior executive and board-level positions across the banking, telecommunications, technology and corporate sectors. Dr. Samarasinghe holds a Ph.D. in Telecommunications from The Australian National University, Canberra, a Master of Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Moratuwa.

He holds the globally recognized Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certifications, together with the CPA qualification from CPA Australia, and is a Distinguished Member of CPA Australia. He also serves on the Boards of Hatton National Bank PLC and Chemanex PLC. Previously, he served on the Board of Hayleys PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He has also held significant public sector and regulatory positions, including serving as a Member of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Chaminda Prabhath | Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Prabhath is a financier by profession and an internationally certified Micro Finance expert from the Frankfurt School in Germany. He has over 25 years of experience in the private sector. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Sp. in Finance) from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA, UK & CGMA), a Fellow member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Credit Management FICM(SL), and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (MCIM). He is also a Certified Management Accountant of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Australia (CMA, AUS). He has a Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Financial Administration from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He is the winner of the prestigious award “Game Changer of the year 2014” from World Consulting Research Corporation (WCRC), India, awarded in recognition of his contribution to the Micro Finance Industry in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Lalith Withana | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Lalith Withana has held management positions in the corporate sector for over 25 years, during which he had held senior management positions in Banking, Manufacturing and Trading for more than 25 years. He has worked with many organizations such as Brandix Group, Ernst and Young, Amsterdam Rotterdam (Amro) Bank, IBM World Trade, Corporation and Carson Cumberbatch, Ceylon Tea Services Limited and Yamaha Corporation in (USA).

Mr. Withana served as the Group Chief Finance and Administrative Officer for SriLankan Airline and later as the Chief Executive Officer in its subsidiary SriLankan Catering till very recently. He is currently serving as the Founder and Managing Director of Agility Consulting Services (Pvt.) Ltd and as a Board Director of Laugfs Gas PLC, Laugfs Maritime Services (Pvt.) Ltd and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC. He is also currently serving on the Board of Acuity Partners (Pvt.) Ltd, and as Vice President of the Project Management Institute, Colombo Chapter, and is also serving on the executive committee of the Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee.

He had previously served as an Independent Director on the Boards of Bank of Ceylon, Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC, Ceylease Limited and Seylan Bank.

Mr. Withana had also been a Commissioner of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL).
Mr. Withana holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Colombo and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Hons. Degree from the University of Manchester Metropolitan, UK. He is a fellow member of the both Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA), UK, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (FCA). He is also a Project Management Professional at the Project Management Institute (PMI), USA.

Mr. Murali Srinivas Polamarasetty | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Polamarasetty was appointed to the HNBF BOD on 15th September 2022. He has held management positions in the corporate sector for over 15 years in diverse sectoral experiences such as Microfinance, Micro-Insurance, Micro-pensions, Affordable/Micro-housing, Housing Microfinance, Drinking Water, and Sanitation. He currently holds the position of Managing Director & CEO at S.M.I.L.E Microfinance Limited in India and serves as Director at Protimos Foundation of London, UK. Further. He is also an Investment Committee Member of Yunus Social Business Fund in Bengaluru, India. Mr. Murali previously has served as a director in many institutions specializing in Microfinance, IT, Bottled water, and Consultancy services in India and the United Kingdom such as Mimoza Enterprises Finance Company Limited- India, Signumtree Consultancy Private Limited, India, Hocare Limited, UK, Acer Engineers Private Limited, Hyderabad, India, and Tripod Impex Private Limited, India.

Mr. Murali Holds M.A. in Political Science from the Sri Venkateswara University of India and a B.S.C in Physics from the Madras University of India. He has also completed an Executive learning program in leadership in Microfinance from Harvard Business school executive Education. Mr. Murali was a Visiting Faculty Member of Leeds University – School of Design in United Kingdom. Further to his corporate portfolio Mr. Murali also serves as a Member of The Board of Advisors in Needy Illiterate Children Education which is an NGO for orphans’ education and a Member of The Board of Advisors of Partners in Prosperity an NGO for water solutions for the poor in India.

Ms. Ramanika Unamboowe | Independent, Non-executive Director

Ms. Ramanika Unamboowe was appointed as an Independent, Non-Executive Director to the HNB Finance PLC Board of Directors, effective June 4th, 2025. She holds an MBA in Human Resources Management from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayawardenepura and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from the American University of Paris, France. 

Ms. Unamboowe last held the position of Executive Vice President – Human Resources at Nations Trust Bank prior to her retirement from permanent employment. During her career spanning 22 years at Nations Trust Bank, she also held senior and corporate management positions both in Corporate Banking and Human Resources. 

Prior to her employment at Nations Trust Bank, Ms. Ramanika Unamboowe worked at American Express Bank, Colombo in the capacity of a Corporate Banking Relationship Manager. 

Mr. Sivarajah Nandakumar | Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Sivarajah Nandakumar holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) in Banking and Finance.

Mr. Nandakumar currently serves as the Executive Vice President / Chief Business Operations Officer (EVP/CBOO) of Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB), where he provides overall leadership, strategic direction, and oversight of the Bank’s operational functions, including centralized operations and shared services.
He also serves as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director of Lanka Financial Services Bureau Limited (LFSBL), providing strategic governance oversight. In addition, he is an active member of the Board Audit Committee of LFSBL.

With over 34 years of distinguished service at Hatton National Bank PLC, Mr. Nandakumar has held several senior management and corporate leadership positions across branch banking, operations management, regional leadership, private banking, and business development. Throughout his career, he has made significant contributions to the Bank’s growth, operational excellence, customer outreach, and business expansion initiatives.

His extensive experience, leadership acumen, and deep understanding of banking operations continue to play a pivotal role in driving the Bank’s strategic objectives and operational effectiveness.

Mr. Ponnehennedige Thumudu Supun Dias | Non-Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Ponnehennedige Thumudu Supun Dias holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. He is a Chartered Marketer of The Chartered Institute of Marketing  (UK) and an Ordinary Life Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM).

Mr. Dias currently serves as the Executive Vice President / Head of Network Business at Hatton National Bank PLC, where he provides strategic leadership and overall direction for the Bank’s branch network and distribution channels.

With over 34 years of distinguished service at Hatton National Bank PLC, he has held several senior and corporate management positions, primarily in the areas of marketing and network management, contributing significantly to the Bank’s growth and outreach.

Mr. Renuke Wijayawardhane | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mr. Renuke Wijayawardhane is an Attorney-at-Law and a distinguished capital market professional with over three decades of experience in securities market regulation, corporate governance, supervision and compliance, capital market infrastructure and products. He retired in July 2025 as the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), bringing to a close an illustrious career spanning more than 31 years with the CSE.

During his tenure at the CSE, Mr. Wijayawardhane provided strategic leadership over the Exchange’s regulatory functions, overseeing regulatory policy, listing, broker supervision, trading operations, market surveillance, and listed entity compliance. He played a pivotal role in developing and implementing regulatory and policy frameworks that supported the growth and integrity of Sri Lanka’s capital market, while also leading stakeholder engagement with regulators, issuers, stockbrokers, investment banks, listed companies, and investors.

He was instrumental in several key market development initiatives, including the implementation of a host of new capital market products on the CSE, introduction of new listing frameworks and Boards, and developing the regulatory and policy frameworks of several critical market infrastructure initiatives such as Delivery versus Payment (DvP), Central Counter Party Clearing (CCP), and digitalization initiatives.

Mrs. Shanti Gnanapragasam | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mrs. Shanti Gnanapragasam serves on the Boards of Cargills Bank PLC, Wealth Trust PLC and Vision Fund Lanka (Pvt) Ltd as an independent, non-executive director. With over 40 years of extensive banking industry experience, Shanti has held several corporate leadership positions in the areas of Treasury Management, Risk Management, Credit, Centralized Operations, Trade Finance. She has served as Chief Group Risk Officer, Vice President Shared Services and Chief Credit Officer at NDB Bank PLC. Previously at HNB, Shanti held the roles of Chief Risk Officer and Head of Treasury & Markets with responsibility for Treasury Management and Trading in Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange & Derivatives. In her career, Shanti has also held the positions of Group Treasurer of Hayleys PLC, Deputy Head of Treasury at People’s Bank and Director Treasury & Country Head of Global Markets at American Express Bank Ltd Sri Lanka.

Her experience includes Treasury Systems evaluation and implementation, leading specific accounting standard change projects such as IFRS, providing training for bankers, auditors and accountants in Credit, Risk Management, Treasury-related technical subjects, Accounting, Leadership and Mentorship. Her higher education comprises a BSc (First Class in Zoology) from the University of Madras and Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK as well as the Chartered Global Management Accountants. Shanti holds Dealer Certification from the ACI Financial Markets Association Paris.

Mrs. Nabiha Mohamed | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Mrs. Nabiha Mohamed is a corporate finance, investment and strategy professional with over 12 years of experience across Sri Lanka, the United States and Canada. Her career spans corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, transaction advisory, private equity and real estate development.

Mrs. Nabiha currently serves as Head of Strategy and Growth at Lynear Wealth Management.

Prior to joining Lynear, she served as Lead Transaction Advisor at the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit under Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance, where she led five priority divestiture transactions valued at over USD 600 million across the hospitality, insurance and oil and gas sectors.

Previously, Mrs. Nabiha held strategy and corporate finance roles at CHEC Port City Colombo and John Keells Holdings, contributing to major strategic and investment initiatives.

Mrs. Nabiha is a CFA Charterholder and holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, with a double major in Economics and Biochemistry. She is actively involved with CFA Society Sri Lanka and serves as Chairperson of the Candidate Council.

Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi | Independent, Non-Executive Director

Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi brings over a decade of experience in development finance, public investment operations, policy and institutional reform and social protection in Sri Lanka and internationally.

She currently serves as National Program Coordinator for a major multilateral social protection policy and investment financing program in Sri Lanka. She has previously worked with the World Bank across the South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific regions, as well as with the Government of Sri Lanka, including at the Ministry of Economic Reforms and the Presidential Secretariat. Dr. Wanniarachchi has played a leading role in strengthening Sri Lanka’s national social protection system, including in the design and implementation of the Aswesuma program and its social registry during the country’s economic crisis response in 2022.

She holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Colombo and a BA in Political Economy from Bennington College in the United States and Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. She is also the author of several nationally acclaimed books.