Banking and Finance

Suresh Shah assumes HNB Chair on 1 April as Nihal Jayawardene retires

The Board of Hatton National Bank PLC has decided to appoint Suresh Kumar Shah as its Chairperson with effect from 1 April 2026 upon the retirement of incumbent Chairperson Nihal Jayawardene PC after the conclusion of the AGM on 31 March 2026.

Shah is currently on the HNB Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of two listed entities and has been closely involved in economic and policy matters through trade chambers and employer organisations. He also led the Government of Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprise reform agenda.

Shah serves as Chairman (Independent Non-Executive Director) of Ceylon Tobacco Company PLC. He is a Non-Executive Director of Carson Cumberbatch PLC and Bukit Darah PLC, a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of Hunters & Co. PLC, and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Lanka Canneries Ltd.

Previously, he served as Director and Chief Executive Officer (Executive Director) of Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC and Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, a role he held for 30 years. Over the course of his career, he has served on several other boards in both executive and non-executive capacities.

Shah is a former Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon. He has also served as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, a Member of the Council of the University of Moratuwa, and as Head of the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit of the Government of Sri Lanka.

Source - Dailyft