EY welcomes Harsha Basnayake to Global Executive Board

Harsha Basnayake, an expert in deals, capital advisory, and transactions in Asia, will join the EY Global Executive Board as Global Managing Partner – Business Administration & Risk – the first from the Asia-Pacific Region and a first for a Sri Lankan. 

Harsha served as the EY Asia-Pacific Deputy Area Managing Partner, expanding EY’s services, operations, investments, and financial impact.

 As the Deputy Area Managing Partner for Asia-Pacific, Harsha served on several senior managerial EY committees, including the Global Markets and Investment Committee, the Global Technology Leadership Council, the Global Practice Group and more. The Asia-Pacific Area employs over 60,000 people and contributes approximately 15 percent of EY’s global revenues.

He was also the Asia-Pacific Area Strategy and Transaction (SaT) Managing Partner and led a team of over 5,000 professionals and 500 Partners in over 20 countries in the region. 

Harsha has shaped EY’s SaT practices in Asia-Pacific, directing acquisitions and investments across Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. 

Formerly leading the Singapore and ASEAN SaT practices, he oversaw SaT across Asia-Pacific, leveraging decades of experience advising on complex cross-border transactions and strategic capital decisions.
His EY career began in 1987 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he was born, raised, and educated. With his Sri Lankan heritage as a cornerstone in his professional journey, Harsha joined EY Singapore in 1997. He played a critical role in establishing and growing the valuation and business modeling practice in the Far East. He is also a founding member of the Global Valuation & Business Modeling Steering Committee and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.