The AVM Board has an excellent mix of senior executive and board experience spanning decades, expertise in multiple disciplines covering varying industry sectors, and track records of success spanning entrepreneurship, banking, finance, e-commerce, technology, fintech and management consulting.
- Over three decades of international leadership experience in the financial services industry.
- Worked across six Asian countries, holding key leadership positions in HSBC Group and PwC Consulting in Vietnam.
- Expertise in Global Banking and Markets, Risk Management, Financial Crime Compliance, and Risk Consulting.
- Subject Matter Expert (SME) at PwC Consulting Vietnam.
- Founder and Managing Director of HSVC (Vietnam) Company Limited.
- Serves as Independent, Non-Executive Director for Sampath Bank PLC, Sri Lanka, The Lighthouse Hotel PLC, Sri Lanka, Jetwing Symphony PLC, Sri Lanka. All listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
- Holds a BSc in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, USA.
- Positioned to lead AVM towards innovation, growth, and success.
- Internationally experienced Fintech veteran.
- A senior executive with 30+ years' experience in business strategy, transformation, and growth across FinTech, Management Consulting, and Aviation in APAC.
- Worked in several sectors/domains including Banking/FinTech, Management Consulting, and Aviation in both the private and public sectors.
- Most recently the Regional Head at Wolters Kluwer FRR, leading comprehensive Finance, Risk, and Regulatory Reporting solutions with significant revenue growth.
- Developed and led high calibre teams to achieve the company’s business objectives, including growing the Region’s revenue by ten-fold while achieving high profitability margins.
- Attained a BA, MBA and a Graduate Diploma in Administration from the University of Canberra, Australia, a Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Futures Analysis from the Canberra Institute of Technology, Australia, and a Graduate Certificate in Aviation Management from the University of New South Wales, Australia.
- Co-founded Affno in the year 2000 and has since given leadership to what has evolved into a niche Group that has designed, built, and commercialised a suite of software products. These products and the related services have been deployed across 15 industry sectors in ten countries including several e-government deployments funded by the World Bank. The Group has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including a World Summit Award for Mobile Government.
- A Graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds a B.Sc. and a M.Sc. in Computer Science.
- Recruited to what is popularly considered to be the Mecca of software engineering - AT&T Bell Labs in New Jersey, USA. Worked at Bell Labs on cutting edge projects with the crème de la crème of the software industry for six years prior to founding Affno.
- A futurist who has been consistent in identifying emerging trends and successfully bringing to market new software solutions ahead of their time.
- A talent spotter and mentor with the ability to develop high performing, lean teams.
- Founder and Executive Chairman of Smart Media The Annual Report Company. Smart Media is focused on the preparation of corporate reports and has business in Asia and the Middle East. They are an IFRS Foundation accredited Integrated Reporting Training Partner. Smart Media pioneered end-to-end digital reports in HTML in 1999 and has launched several digital innovations over the years.
- Serves on the boards of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka, and The Children’s Heart Project of Sri Lanka and is a Trustee of the National Trust Sri Lanka.
- Chosen by LMD magazine as “one of the top ten captains of business, commerce and industry in Sri Lanka” in 2012.
- A medical doctor turned entrepreneur, conferred an honorary fellowship by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
- Passionate about, and interested in the future of education, global citizenship, natural health, and regenerative agriculture.
- Three decades’ experience in banking and finance.
- Appointed CEO of American Express (Saudi Arabia) in 2006 and served in this capacity until 2022, making him one of the longest serving CEOs of a Saudi Central Bank regulated entity.
- The American Express (Saudi Arabia) team under his leadership transformed the Company to be the leading provider of payment solutions to large Saudi Corporates and High Net Worth individuals. The Company won the coveted American Express GNS Presidents Award in 2011, the Best Centurion Launch in 2008, the Best Commercial Sales, and the Best Loyalty Program in 2012.
- Worked for the HSBC Group for over 15 years. When heading the HSBC cards business in the Middle East, he worked closely with Visa and MasterCard as a member of their Regional Advisory Board and served on the Board of Directors of Reward Management Middle East, the issuers of Airmiles, a leading loyalty provider in the Middle East.
- Held various Senior Management positions with HSBC in Sri Lanka.
- Holds an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA.
- Recreational Golfer who loves to travel.
- A mathematical economist by training and has been using data driven methods for over twenty-five years to advise businesses on how to grow.
- Specialises in evidence-based marketing and consults on matters relating to marketing finance.
- Started his career as an econometrics analyst at DDB London and worked across several blue-chip clients including Unilever, British Gas, Heinz and Barclaycard. Joined Brand Finance as Director of Brand Economics.
- Has consulted for Microsoft, Barclaycard and NPower, working on brand valuation projects.
- Expert in strategic marketing analysis and evaluation of market effectiveness. Worked with some of the world’s leading marketing communications agencies since 2004: Publicis, Omnicom Media Group and Publicis Media.
- Currently Head of Marketing Analysis and Modelling for Publicis Media UK.
- He has written extensively about marketing optimization and has published in both academic and practitioner journals. He has nine award winning IPA Advertising Effectiveness Awards to his name.
- Holds a BSc in Economics and Statistics and a MSc in Economics specialising in Econometrics from the University of Southampton, UK.
- Over 25 years of experience in Sri Lanka and the United States across diverse industries and has worked as an independent consultant and advisor to the senior leadership of corporate, public sector, and non-governmental organisations.
- Worked closely with international organisations such as the World Bank, ADB, and UN agencies.
- In the US, he worked for McKinsey and Company in its New York office providing leadership in a variety of roles including consulting, research, and practice management. He was responsible for originating and subsequently leading McKinsey's first large scale project in Sri Lanka, and, together with their Asian leadership, laying the groundwork for continuing operations in the Country.
- Worked as VP of Strategy for Brandix and Company.
- More recently, appointed Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Sri Lanka.
- An Independent Group Director of Aberdeen Holdings.
- Holds an MBA from Cranfield, UK and professional qualifications from CIM UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) UK.
