Krishan Balendra and Gihan Cooray have been appointed to the main Board of Directors of John Keells Holdings PLC.
Ajith Gunawardene and Ronnie Pieris are to retire from their positions in the Board of Directors effective 2017. Mr. Balaendra and Mr. Cooray are to replace them following their retirement.
Krishan Balendra was appointed to the Board of John Keells Stock Brokers (Pvt) Ltd in 2007. He is President and member of the Group Executive Committee of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) and is responsible for the Retail sector. He started his professional career at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong, in investment banking, focusing primarily on equity capital markets. After a four year stint in Hong Kong, he continued his career in corporate finance at Aitken Spence & Co. PLC, Sri Lanka prior to joining JKH. Krishan holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of London and an MBA from INSEAD.
Gihan Cooray who is Head of Corporate Finance & Strategy, also heads the Group Treasury function and John Keells Capital – the investment banking arm of the Group. Gihan holds an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, Houston, Texas. He is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a certified management accountant of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia and has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
Photo caption: Krishan Balendra (left) and Gihan Cooray