Board of Directors

Mrs. G. S. Tamara Dharmakirti-Herath was appointed to the AFC Board of Directors as the Chairperson on 22nd October 2020. She holds over 39 years of experience in the financial services sector, has made significant contributions to the industry and was involved in the setting up of two Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFI) in the country. In her long professional career, she has been in senior management positions in a few of the premier NBFI’s and as a consultant providing technical skill and knowledge to NBFI’s and banks engaged in Leasing and Factoring. She has vast knowledge and experience in the multiple aspects of the finance industry. She has facilitated knowledge and skill development to young leasing professionals in Sri Lanka (pro-bono) and advocates best practices and gender equality in the management of the NBFI sector.
Additionally, having represented the country in two team sports she went on to be involved in sports administration at national and international level. She has served as a director of an international sports federation, president of a regional and national sports federation and as a member of the National Sports Council and National Selection Committee for Olympics, Chairperson of the Women and Sports Committee NOC Sri Lanka, and held other positions of reputability.

Mr. Romani De Silva was appointed to the Board on 9th March 1990 and currently holds the position of Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Alliance Finance Company PLC. He holds Directorates in many other companies and counts over 30 years of experience in the finance industry. He is a Life member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors, a member of the Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs, and currently represents AFC as a Council Member of The Finance Houses Association of Sri Lanka (FHASL); the representative body of the Non- Bank Financial Sector of Sri Lanka. He also serves as the Hon. Treasurer of the Sri Lanka Institute of Credit Management (SLICM) and as a member of the FHASL sub-committee on Sustainability related matters.
He has also represented the FHASL on the Steering Committee initiated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to develop a Sustainable Finance Road Map for Sri Lanka. He also represented the NBFC industry as a working committee member of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy Project recently concluded by the IFC/World Bank Group and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

In 2018 he was also selected to serve on the SSCI Council – a global council initiated by the European Organization for Sustainable Development (EOSD) in Karlsruhe Germany, mandated to develop the world’s first measurable, certifiable and holistic sustainability standard for value-driven financial institutions. This novel initiative known as the Sustainability Standard Certification Initiative or SSCI was launched in 2018 and is supported by the Association of Development Finance Institutions of Asia and the Pacific(ADFIAP) , the African Association of Development Financing Institutions (AADFI) and the Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank (ADFIMI).

He also sits as a member of the Global Council for the Financing 4.0 program – an initiative by the EOSD which is mandated to drive finance as a force for good.

Through a philanthropic foundation supported by Alliance Finance Company PLC, Mr. De Silva is also a pioneering corporate investor in the pioneering “Ath Pavura” reality TV Programme in Sri Lanka which aims to create awareness for Social Enterprise in Sri Lanka and develop an impact investing culture in the country. Through this program, the foundation was able to invest in five social enterprises many of which are now nurtured and supported by AFC.
In 2001, he was recognised as the pioneer of Collaboration Financing – a unique financing concept designed to provide business specific finance for entrepreneurs to expand their businesses. For introducing this innovative concept to the Finance industry he was awarded two Bronze Awards both at Provincial and National levels at the Sri Lanka Entrepreneur of the Year competition – 2001.

In 2018 his unwavering commitment and contribution towards Sustainable Development were recognised with a merit award for Sustainability Leader of the Year, at the Karlsruhe sustainability Awards program held during the Global Sustainable Finance Conference organised by the European Organisation for Sustainable Development. Shortly after, he was nominated to the SSCI Council of the EOSD where he was able to steer Alliance Finance Company PLC to become one of only four value-driven financial institutions globally to be certified for Sustainable Finance on 30th September 2020.

Mr. De Silva is a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Management, Sri Lanka.

Mr. W.P.K. Jayawardana was appointed to the AFC Board of Directors on 4th April 2017 and currently serves as Deputy Managing Director and he brings over 24 years of experience in investment banking, corporate finance, credit and operations. He serves the AFC Board as the Deputy Managing Director. He is involved in and has led teams in launching several innovative products in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, including securitisation structures, convertible securities and derivatives and has executed several landmark capital market transactions. He played a key role in setting up NDB Capital Limited, Bangladesh and Emerald Sri Lanka Fund, being the first private equity country fund set up in Sri Lanka. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Chartered Global Management Accountants. He is also an Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants- UK. He holds an MBA from the Open University of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada. Other Appointments His previous appointments include, Managing Director/CEO of NDB Capital Limited, Bangladesh and COO of NDB Capital Holdings Limited. He has held Board positions in several listed and private entities including Resus Energy PLC, Panasian Power PLC, Lanka Communication Services Limited and NDB Capital Limited.

Mr. Michael Benedict who has served the company since 2001, has been appointed as the Executive Director- Recoveries with effect from 1st September 2023.
During his career at AFC he has held the key positions of AGM Credit Metropolitan, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Recovery & Collection Officer. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK), and is a Certified Management Accountant (Australia) and a Certified Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. He is also a Director of Alfinco Insurance Brokers which a subsidiary of the Alliance Group.

Mrs. Priyanthi De Silva was appointed to the AFC Board of Directors on 9th August 2018 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA) and the Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA)of UK and a Fellow of Certified Practicing Accountants, (FCPA) of Australia. She is also an Associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of UK (ACCA).
She has over 30 years of experience in the FMCG, Leisure, Healthcare, Travel, and Financial Services sectors in Sri Lanka and Australia. The senior positions held by her in Sri Lanka include Manager Compliance at Sri Lankan Airlines, Manager Finance and Systems at Sri Lankan Catering, Financial Controller of Hemas Holdings PLC, Finance Manager at Arpico Finance PLC, Manager Finance and MIS at Eagle NDB Fund Management and in Australia as a Financial Specialist at Goston Avend Pty Ltd, and as an Accountant at GE Money and Coles Express.

Mr. L.J.H. de Silva was appointed to the AFC Board of Directors on 16th October 2019 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He is presently the Managing Director of Alliance Agencies Ltd., exclusive agents in Sri Lanka for Heidelberger Duckmachinen AG Germany and Drive One (Pvt) Ltd., sole distributor for Audi AG, Germany. He has over 30 years of management experience. He has acquired significant experience in brand building, strategic planning and key account management. Former president of the Association for Print and Design Professionals and is a Member of the Board of Governors of the institute of Printing in Sri Lanka. Mr. de Silva attended Hauchler Studio College and Print Media Academy Heidelberg, Germany. He is a fellow of the Sri Lanka Institute of Printing and has over 40 years of experience in the graphic arts industry.

Mr.D.L.I Hettiarachchi was appointed to the AFC Board of Directors on 22nd October 2020 as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He has over 25 years experience in management and administration. Since 2002 onwards he owns and manages a private civil law practice and has over 30 years experience in commercial and civil litigation in original/appellate courts and arbitrations in a range of matters. He possesses in-depth and wide experience in transactional legal services and consultancy, including a wide scope of matters covered in commercial/corporate law practice. He is an Attorney at Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and holds a Master of Law degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and Doctor of Civil Laws degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The Board of Directors has great pleasure in informing that Mr.Wiyan Perera, the grandson of our Founder Director, Mr.Fred Perera and son of our former Finance Director Mr.Rohan Perera has decided to join the Board as Non Independent Non Executive Director with immediate effect. It is a memorable day.

Mr. D.F.W Perera was educated at Colombo International School, where he served as the Head Prefect of the batch of 2011. Following his schooling, Mr. Perera graduated with First Class Honours in Economics and Statistics from University College London, where he was awarded the R.A Fisher Prize for Academic Excellence.

After his graduation, Mr. Perera was employed in London by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he worked as a Vice President in the Global Credit and Special Situations trading team.

Mr. Perera’s team specialised in analysing and investing in Performing and Non Performing Loans, High Yield Bonds and Distressed Debt. Mr. Perera was involved in analysing, negotiating and executing investment opportunities for the bank and its clients with a specific focus on Real Estate, Hotels/Tourism and Metals and Mining. His team managed a portfolio with investments across Europe, including the U.K, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

Mr Perera returned to Sri Lanka in April 2022 and currently holds management positions in various privately-owned and operated businesses. He is the Managing Director of MSS Investments (Private) Limited and Motor Service Station (Pvt) Ltd. He is also an Executive Director of Orient Properties (Pvt) Ltd, and Orient Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd.

We wish him the very best in his new capacity as a Member of the Board of Directors, and look forward to his analytical and investment acumen which will have a overall contribution to the upward trajectory of the Company.