UB Finance expands board of directors

UB Finance PLC has appointed Dilshan Rodrigo and Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri to its director board.  

Rodrigo was appointed as Director/Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Colombo PLC in August 2024. He brings over two decades of banking experience, having held senior positions across various sectors, including banking, insurance, investment banking and apparel. 

He holds an MBA from Cranfield University, UK and is a fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), UK.

Before joining Union Bank, Rodrigo served as Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer at Hatton National Bank (HNB), where he oversaw all support function. He has also held numerous directorships at prominent companies such as HNB Assurance PLC, Guardian Acuity Management Ltd and served as Chairman of HNB Finance PLC and Lanka Financial Services Bureau. 

Additionally, he is a Director of the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka and has been actively involved in professional councils, Sri Lanka Institute of Directors and Asian Bankers Association.

In addition to his professional achievements, Rodrigo has contributed to academia, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for over a decade. His extensive experience and leadership are expected to play a pivotal role in driving the next phase of Union Bank’s growth.

Prof. Dharmasiri has a combination of being a Chartered Manager, Chartered HR Professional and a Chartered Electrical Engineer. He is acclaimed as a conference speaker, corporate trainer, strategy consultant, author and an academic. 

He is the first home-grown Senior Professor in Management of the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and was a Director/Chairman of the Board of Management of it. He became the first Sri Lankan to lead both the Chartered Management Institute – Sri Lanka Chapter and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management. 

He is an Adjunct Professor at Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma. He was the editor of the pioneering Sri Lankan Journal of Management. Being a Commonwealth AMDISA Doctoral Fellow, Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow and a Commonwealth Postdoctoral Fellow, he is also an Independent Director of several boards. Prof. Dharmasiri likes to identify himself as one who transitioned from being an ‘Engineer of Electrical’ to an ‘Engineer of Hearts and Minds’.