HNB Assurance PLC (HNBA) announced the appointment of Lasitha Wimalaratne as its Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2022.

Wimalaratne, an alumnus of Mahinda College, Galle, is decorated by a professional profile spanning over 24 years out of which he holds 21 years of experience in life insurance operations and sales, inclusive of seven years at AIA Insurance Sri Lanka, whilst also gaining three years of marketing and sales exposure in London. 

Prior to joining HNB Assurance PLC in 2019, Wimalaratne conducted duties as General Manager Life Operations and Specified Officer at Softlogic Life Insurance PLC. Having joined HNB Assurance PLC as its Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Wimalaratne was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer and Principal Officer in 2020.

Having graduated from the University of Sunderland, UK, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Studies, Wimalaratne obtained his Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Wales, UK. A Chartered Insurer and a Fellow Member of the Charter Insurance Institute, UK (FCII), Wimalaratne is also a Fellow Member of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (AZIIF-Fellow) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK (ACIM).

Wimalaratne is the current Secretary of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka (IASL) and is the immediate Honorary Past President of the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute (SLII) and has been serving the SLII as a Council Member from 2011. 

Moreover, he was also Founder Secretary General of the Association of Chartered Insurance Professionals (ACIP) and was a Council Member of the ACIP until March 2021. Wimalaratne has been part of several local and international insurance seminars and has been a guest speaker and a panellist at several conferences, including Insurance Claims and Underwriting Management Asia Summit 2017, which was held in Singapore and he was the first to publish a book on insurance in a local context, titled ‘Jeewitha Rakshanaye Asiriya’, which highlights the importance and benefits of life insurance.