Our Team
Board of Directors

NIRAJ DE MEL
CHAIRMAN
Mr. De Mel commenced his career at Forbes & Walker Limited and has over 40 years of experience in the tea industry. He is the Founder/Director of The Mel’s Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd.
He was the former Managing Director of Hayleys Global Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Vanrees (Ceylon) Ltd and Bosanquet & Skrine Ltd. He was also the Chief Operating Officer of C.S. Asia Teas (Pvt) Ltd and a former Director of Mabroc Teas (Pvt) Ltd.
He was a former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Tea Exporters’ Association. He was also the Chief Executive Officer of the Tea Association of Sri Lanka and In-Country Manager of Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), UK.

AJITH FERNANDO
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mr. Fernando is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and holds an MA in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo. He founded Capital Alliance in the year 2000 and currently functions as group MD/ CEO. Prior to this he has worked with some of the leading financial institutions in Sri Lanka and has over 25 years experience in the money and capital markets.

WARUNA DE SILVA
DIRECTOR / CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
in 2008 and was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company on 01st May 2017. Holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. Completed an Executive MSc in Supply Chain Management, an Executive MSc in Human Resource Management and an Executive MSc in Project Management from Asia E-University Malaysia. A passed finalist of CMA Australia. Completed Executive education on Strategy and Leadership from Wharton Business School Philadelphia (USA) and holds the ADP Certificate. Completed Executive education on Strategy & Entreprisewide Transformation from Rice University Texas (USA) & MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston (USA). Doctor of Business Administration candidate at University of Kelaniya.

DINESH FERNANDO
DIRECTOR / CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Mr. Fernando holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Colombo and Bachelor of Arts (HONS) degree in Business and Marketing from Coventry University, UK. Further, he is an Affiliate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK and a Member of the Association of Business Executives (MABE), UK.
He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2016 as a General Manager and was appointed as an Executive Director in 2019. Prior to joining the company he functioned in the capacity of a Senior Manager at Mercantile Produce Brokers Ltd. Fernando has over 20 years of experience in tea broking.

THILINA NONIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mr. Nonis commenced his career at Somerville & Company (Pvt) Ltd and later worked for Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC and Bartleet Produce Marketing (Pvt) Ltd. He has been with Ceylon Tea brokers since 2006 and was appointed as the Head of Marketing of the company on the 1st April 2017. Mr. Nonis has over 18 years of experience in tea broking.

ZAMEEL MOHAMED
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Mr. Mohamed holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the London Metropolitan University, UK. He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC in 2018 as a Senior General Manager and prior to joining the Company he worked at Bartleet Produce Marketing (Pvt) Ltd. Mr. Mohamed has over 19 years of experience in tea broking. Mr. Mohamed is currently the “Tea Convener” of the Tea Sub-Committee of the Colombo Brokers’ Association.

SHIROMAL COORAY
DIRECTOR
Ms. Cooray is the Chairman and Managing Director of Jetwing Travels (Private) Limited – one of the leading inbound/outbound travel management companies in Sri Lanka. She is also the Chairman of Jetwing Hotels Limited, the premier hospitality brand of Sri Lanka, that owns and manages 30 hotels and 10 villas in Sri Lanka. With diverse experience in a number of industries, Ms. Cooray also holds 18 other directories in hotels, finance, investment banking, commodity brokering and advertising and PR agencies.
Hailing from a background in finance and management, Ms. Cooray holds a Master in Business Management from the University of Colombo, is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and a former Finance Director of J. Walter Thompson Ltd (Colombo) along with work experience in the UK and Hong Kong. She is the past Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID), and past President of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO). Ms. Cooray is an Independent Non-Executive Director of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC.

SHARMALI PERERA
DIRECTOR
An Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK. Mrs. Perera has been with Capital Alliance Limited since its inception in 2000, and has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry. She is the Chief Risk Officer of the Capital Alliance group and a Director of Capital Alliance Securities (Pvt) Limited, Capital Alliance Investments Limited and the Lanka Swift User group.

SAMINDA DESHAPRIYA
DIRECTOR
Mr. Deshapriya is a Member of the Association of Business Executives (MABE), UK and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Australian Institute of Business (AIB), Australia and a Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (MSc) from Birmingham City University, UK. He is currently reading for Micromasters in Supply Chain Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2006 and has over thirteen years of experience in all operations of the Company in different capacities. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Logicare (Private) Limited which is a fully owned subsidiary of Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC.

B. R. L. FERNANDO
DIRECTOR
A Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Currently functions as the Non-Executive Chairman of the Commercial Development Company PLC, Akzo Nobel Paints Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., First Guardian Equities (Pvt) Ltd, Tropical Abundance (Pvt) Ltd, Tropibar (Pvt) Ltd and Premium International (Pvt) Ltd.
He functions as a Non-Executive Director of St Nicholas Education Services Ltd., and as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Japan – Sri Lanka Technical and Cultural Association.
He is the former Chairman of CIC Holdings PLC, Chemanex PLC and CIC Group of Companies and Deputy Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC.

DHAYAN H. MADAWALA
DIRECTOR
Associated with the Tea Industry for over 45 years. Retired as Director/CEO of Hapugastenne Plantations PLC and Udapussellawa Plantations PLC at the end of 2014, after serving these companies for over 20 years.
He was also a Director of James Finlay Plantation Holdings Ltd., Finlays Tea Estates (Lanka) Ltd., Newburgh Green Teas (Pvt) Ltd., and Finwood Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. He is a Fellow of the National Institute of Plantation Management (FIPM)
Other Key Personal

THARAKE NILAWEERA
GENERAL MANAGER - TEA
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in March 1995 as a Tea Executive and was subsequently promoted as Manager Tea. Tharake is a fully Conversant Auctioneer Broker with over 20 years of experience. He has also worked previously at Forbes &Walker Tea Brokers(Pvt)Ltd.

DEEMANTHA EKANAYAKE
MANAGER TEA
He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2018 and has over 6 years of experience in Tea broking. Prior to joining us, he was working for Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC.

HARSHANA PERERA
MANAGER – TEA
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2015 as an Executive – Tea. Prior to joining us, he worked for Mercantile Produce Brokers Ltd. He has over 10 years of experience in Tea broking.

NISHANTHA ADHIKARI
FINANCE CONTROLLER
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2018 and he is a Member of the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka. He also holds a BSc in Accounting from the Sri Jayawardanapura University. Before joining Ceylon Tea Brokers, he worked in the capacity of Manager at KPMG.

KASUN SENEVIRATHNA
ASSISTANT MANAGER FINANCE
Kasun holds a Bachelor’s degree in business Administration (Special) from University of Colombo and he is currently studying for Chartered Accountants (SL) final exams. He is also a passed finalist of Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka (AAT). He worked as an Accounts Executive at Hapugastenne Plantations PLC before joining Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2015. He has over 8 years of experience in the finance field.

NISHAN ABEYGUNAWARDENA
MANAGER OPERATIONS
Nishan holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Birmingham City University, UK. He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers from Somerville & Co. (Pvt) Ltd. as a Cataloguing Officer in 2007 and was subsequently promoted as a Manager in 2016. Nishan has an experience of more than 18 years in the tea trade.

S. J. THASAN
SENIOR MANAGER WAREHOUSING
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2010, having last served at Forbes & walker Tea Brokers (Pvt) Ltd as a Stores Executive. He has over 32 years’ experience in warehousing.

MADAWA JAYARATNE
MANAGER SAMPLE ROOM
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2014, having last served at Forbes & walker Tea Brokers (Pvt) Ltd as a Senior Executive. He has over 17 years of experience in Sampling.

T. G. KAMAL
ASSISTANT MANAGER WAREHOUSING
Kamal joined Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC in 2008 having last served at Somerville & Co. (Pvt) Ltd. He holds over 12 years of experience in the warehousing field.

MAHESH DE ZOYSA
MANAGER IT
He is an IT professional who has over 18 years of experience in the Information Technology field. He joined Ceylon Tea Brokers as the Assistant Manager IT in 2011 and currently he is performing as Manager IT from 2016.

SANETHRI BEMINIWATTE
MANAGER – HR
Ms. Beminwatte holds a Master of Business Administration from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Special) Degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Kelaniya.
She also holds an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from CIMA – UK.
Prior to joining Ceylon Tea Brokers, she held the position of Assistant Manager – Talent Engagement & Development at Brandix Apparel Limited.

SONIA ARIF
ASSISTANT MANAGER ADMINISTRATION
Ms. Arif is a Member of the Association of Business Executives (MABE), UK. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK. She joined Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC in 2015 and prior to joining the Company she functioned in the capacity of an Executive Secretary at Debug Group of Companies.

A. C. K. PATHIRANA
GENERAL MANAGER MANUFACTURING ADVISORY
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2006 as a Manufacturing Consultant and subsequently promoted as Manager Manufacture. Has over 25 years experience in the tea manufacturing sector and last served at Windwood Tea Factory as a Factory Manager.

SAHAN GUNATHILAKE
SENIOR MANAGER MANUFACTURING ADVISORY
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2014 and he has over 15 years of experience in the tea manufacturing sector.

J. R. EPA
ASSISTANT MANAGER MANUFACTURING ADVISORY
Joined Ceylon Tea Brokers in 2019 and he has over 30 years of experience in the tea manufacturing sector. He has also worked for Kelani Valley Plantations.