Among Sri Lanka’s most renowned business leaders, Mr Gunewardene’s career has been instrumental in providing strategic direction and business insight which enabled John Keells Holdings PLC to grow from an LKR 1 billion Market Cap (1992) to LKR 190 billion (2016). In his 34 years at the company, his focus had been on real estate, leisure, financial services, retail businesses- distinguishing himself by leading the respective businesses to market leadership positions. He retired from John Keells Holdings in 2017 after serving as Deputy Chairman for over 12 years.
He functioned as a founding Director and, subsequently, Chairman of Nations Trust Bank where he provided strategic direction and leadership in building the Bank. In addition, he provided leadership for other financial organizations when he served as Director and subsequently Chairman of Union Assurance Ltd.
In retail, Mr Gunewardene was instrumental in mentoring and guiding the island’s largest branded retail business ‘Odel’. As its seed Investor and Chairman, Mr Gunewardene guided the management, took them public and sold the company in 2014.
His leadership has also been sought by regulatory authorities when Mr Gunewardene functioned as the Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) from 2000 – 2003. He was also an advisor to the various governments in Sri Lanka, functioning independently without any political affiliations. He was a member of the Prime Ministers Taskforce for Financial Sector Reform and also functioned as a Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. Recently, he was a member of the Board of the BOI and Head of the Task Force for Foreign Direct Investment and Exports.
He is currently the Founder and Chairman of Bluestone Capital Ltd a leading private equity investment company. He is also the Founder Chairman of Digital Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd better known as PickMe the leading ride hailing and delivery company in Sri Lanka. He is also the Chairman of Fintrex Finance Ltd a Central Bank of Sri Lanka registered non bank financial institution. He is a Council Member of the University of Colombo.
Group Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka's largest apparel exporter, Brandix Apparel Limited, Ashroff Omar has been instrumental in redefining the Sri Lankan Apparel industry for over four decades. He spearheads a company that comprises of manufacturing and product development facilities offering end-to-end solutions from Tokyo to the US, including UK, Cambodia, Haiti, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh for some of the world's most renowned brands, with a commitment to offering 'Inspired Solutions' to its clientele.
He is also credited with pioneering environmentally-friendly apparel manufacture in the world and establishing the world's first LEED platinum manufacturing facility for eco-friendly manufacture. His extensive experience and ability to think beyond the norm has secured him positions on the Boards of some of Sri Lanka's most respected corporates. He is also the Founder Chair of the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), the apex body of the Sri Lanka Apparel industry.
Mr. Premaratne is the Managing Director of the Brandix Group and drives the overall strategy and transformative journey of the Group in Sri Lanka and overseas. Prior to taking the reins as Managing Director, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of the Group, and sits as a Director on its subsidiaries and integrated ventures, which includes Teejay Lanka PLC.
As an Independent Director at John Keells Hotels PLC, Mr. Premaratne serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. He is also an Independent Director of NDB Bank PLC. Previously, he was a Director at Bank of Ceylon, Sri Lanka’s largest state-owned bank, chairing the Board Risk and Nominations Committees. He also served on the Board of the Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants (CIMA) Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB). He was a Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka’s oldest and most august trade chamber.
Prior to joining Brandix Apparel Limited, Mr. Premaratne was the Head of Research at HNB Stockbrokers (Private) Limited. He offers a wealth of experience, including over a decade of service as a lecturer for CIMA (UK), in Sri Lanka, India, Singapore and the Philippines, where he won ‘Tutor of the Year’ at the CIMA Global Financial Management Awards in 2009. Mr. Premaratne was also engaged with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) UK
Since Bill’s retirement from the corporate world, he has leveraged his manufacturing, supply chain, and Brand retail knowledge to support industry efforts on Climate and Environmental Impact while enabling profitable growth, preparing for future legislation. As such he acts as an advisor to Future-Proof Fashion.
Between 2011 and 2021 Bill was the Chief Supply Chain Officer at PVH. Based at the company’s New York headquarters, Bill oversaw the Company’s global supply chain operations and was responsible for developing the global production structure, processes, manufacturing footprint and logistics network that serviced the needs of PVH’s global retail and wholesale divisions.
Before PVH Bill served as Senior Vice President of Global Sourcing at Wal-Mart, managing Electronic, Hardware, Toys, Home furnishings and munitions supply chains. In this Role Bill initiated Walmart’s reshoring efforts.
Earlier in his career, Bill served as Executive Vice President of Manufacturing, Sourcing and Product Development for Victoria’s Secret, Chief Supply Chain Officer Intimates at Limited Brands.
Bill Started his Career in apparel manufacturing in the UK, exclusively supplying M&S, before he moved to Panyu, China in 1990 to build apparel Supply Chains across Asia, Indian Sub-Continent, Latin America and most recently Ethiopia, for which PVH was awarded the US Secretary of State ACE award with the World Bank issuing a white paper identifying the efforts as the Blueprint for future “Green” Industrial parks.
Half of Bills career has been as a Manufacturer / Supplier and the balance providing supply chain leadership for Major retailers and Brands.
Bill is a native of Scotland and attended Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes Technical College where he received his IMS certificate. Bill was previously a member of the Board of Directors for the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA). He currently serves on the F.I.T. International Trade & Marketing Advisory Board and is an Industry advisor to O9 Solutions.
Bill is an Honorary Professor of Glasgow Caledonian University. Also, an Instrument rated Pilot, flying both Planes and Helicopters.
After 33 years away from Scotland, Bill and his wife returned in 2021 to spend time with their children and six grandchildren.
Mr. Perera was the Chief Executive officer of Teejay Group from April 2018 to December 2019. He also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Brandix Apparel Solutions Limited from January 2010 to March 2018. He was responsible for drawing up and implementing strategies across all business units in the intimate apparel SBUs in Sri Lanka and India. Mr Perera previously held positions of Group Financial Controller & Treasurer, Group Accounts Manager and Finance Director at Unilever Sri Lanka while counting overall experience over 30 years both with Engineering and Finance exposures in amongst competitive conditions and multi-dimensional challenges. He holds a BSc. Mechanical Engineering -2nd Class upper Honours from the University of Moratuwa and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants/CGMA, UK.
He is currently an independent director of Teejay Lanka Prints (Private) Limited, Teejay India Private Limited, Teejay Mauritius Private Limited & an Independent Director/Chairman Audit Committee/Member of the Remuneration Committee of Fintrex Finance Limited. He is also engaged as a Consultant for Iceman Technologies Limited &Elegant Knitting International limited.
Mr. Okutami, is the Chairman and CEO of Pacific Textile Holdings Limited which is the parent company of Pacific Textured Jersey Holdings Limited. He has an extensive experience in management of textiles business and will be leading the Pacific management team and oversee the overall production and operation of the Group, providing corporate directions and formulating business strategies of the Group.
Mr Okutami has a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Hitotsubashi University, one of Japan’s top universities, and held senior management positions including Managing Director of Toray Industries (South China) Co. Ltd. and of Toray Industries (Hong Kong) Ltd., Deputy Managing Director of Toray Industries (China) Co. Ltd. in the past. .
Mr. Kit Vai Tou is an Executive Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Pacific Textiles Holdings Limited. Mr. Tou is a Fellow member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He has extensive experiences in factory operations, financial management, project management and ERP Systems.