Indika Perera

Indika is an attorney-at-law with over 20 years of experience in litigation, training, facilitation, program planning, research, management and administration, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), governance and anti-corruption, conflict and political transformation areas. His work experience relates mostly to management of anti-corruption project implementation, training of local VVIP-level Sri Lankan politicians and university-level academic teaching. Indika’s litigation experience is in the areas of human rights, and civil, commercial, industrial and criminal law. Indika’s training and coaching experience goes beyond Sri Lanka, having conducted programs/sessions in India, Australia, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai, Malaysia, Sweden, Austria and the United States. Indika is a graduate of the Sri Lanka Law College and holds a Master of Arts in Post-war Recovery Studies from the University of York in the United Kingdom.

Dishan De Silva

Dishan is the current Head of Finance for 54gene, Inc. based in Washington D.C., which is a health technology company deriving insights from the world’s most diverse populations to solve some of healthcare’s biggest challenges. Founded in 2019, 54gene generates insights from clinical, phenotypic, and genetic data to improve the development, availability, and efficacy of medical products and diagnostics that will prove beneficial to all populations. Dishan has over 20 years of experience in financial and operational oversight, and has protected and improved the financial health of organizations in diverse industries such as agricultural research, transportation technology, biotech, and digital media. Prior to 54gene, Dishan was most recently at SmartBrief, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based digital media company. He served as the Senior Vice President of Finance and was instrumental in the sustained growth and successful sale of the company. Prior to that, Dishan worked as a Consultant at TMW Systems (a transportation technology company) and in corporate accounting at Doane Marketing Research (an agricultural research company). Dishan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Bluffton University, a Master of Accountancy from Cleveland State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Hasitha Kuruwita

Hasitha is a Director and Founding Partner of Career Builders (Pvt) Limited in Sri Lanka, which is a recruitment and outsourcing company. He has been managing the professional staffing and talent sourcing unit. With a degree in Automotive Technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, United States, Hasitha is an ASE-certified, factory-trained engineer with over 20 years of experience that included working as a government contractor for the U.S. State Department under OCE Canon Solutions North America. In 2012, he used this extensive experience to establish his own automotive business, Prestige Auto Performance LLC, which has, since then, achieved a reputation for specializing in Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region. Apart from his professional commitments, Hasitha also serves as a Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development with Human Values, a non-profit organization incorporated in Washington D.C. that provides livelihoods for women and children in developing countries. Hasitha is a lifetime member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and has been an active member of the BMW Car Club of America and Porsche Club circuit for over 20 years.

Vathany Narendran

Senior Manager, Program Management

Vathany has 30 years of experience in both the non-profit and private sectors as Manager of IT services and Project Coordinator, focused primarily on project management, including coordination with INGOs. At Colombo Initiative, Vathany will take the lead in all project management activities. She has extensive experience in gender-related studies, working particularly on issues related to women and children, labour migration and domestic workers, and persons with disabilities. Vathany’s core skills also include database management (statistical and library), multimedia and Mojo storytelling, digital archiving, preparing online and offline project proposals, and monitoring and evaluation. She is an Associate Member of the Australian Computer Society (AACS) and has received short trainings on Digital Media Journalism and Digital Library Resources and Services. Vathany completed her B.Sc. in Physical Science at the University of Peradeniya and has completed postgraduate studies in Computer Science at the University of Colombo.

Kanchana Basnayake 

Senior Manager, Public Relations & Outreach

Kanchana is a freelance consultant with over 18 years of experience in all aspects in management in both private and government sector institutes in Sri Lanka, with a special focus on client servicing, media, communications and HR. At Colombo Initiative, she will be responsible for the organization’s outreach strategies, networking and assisting in the overall administration. Kanchana has previously served as the Coordinator of Online Campaigns and Special Projects at the President’s Office of Sri Lanka and worked in the non-profit sector, specializing in project management on community development projects in Sri Lanka’s estate sector. Kanchana is conversant with the procedures of working with international organizations through her tenures at AMP Limited and TNS Global Research in New Zealand, where she further expanded her knowledge in applying best practices and optimizing the functions of Human Resource Management. Kanchana holds a Diploma in Business from the Newton College of Business and Technology, New Zealand, a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Management from Monash University, Australia, and is currently reading for her MBA at the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom.

Hajara Saleeth

Research Fellow

Hajara is a postgraduate research student at Monash University, Malaysia, with strong research interests in international business, finance and capital markets. At Colombo Initiative, Hajara will be assisting with research, communications and digital media. She is currently researching the effects of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures on firm value in emerging markets, and the impact of gender diversity in corporate boards on the performance of listed companies. With working experience in both private and public sectors, she has worked as a consultant for several start-up organizations in feasibility assessment and business planning process. In academia, her lecturing interests include general management, international business, accounting, finance, e-commerce and marketing. Additionally, she is also passionate about tech start-ups, digital wallets, mobile for development (M4D) and ICT for Development (ICT4D) with a special interest on reducing the digital divide and empowering young women to achieve academic and career goals. At SLASSCOM (IT/BPM industry chamber), Hajara contributed towards the development of Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Management (BPM) industries of Sri Lanka in terms of capacity building, branding Sri Lanka as a knowledge process outsourcing destination and initiating a tech-startup ecosystem in Sri Lanka. During her tenure at the President’s Office, she was instrumental in setting up the digital communication strategy of then President of Sri Lanka. Hajara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Staffordshire University, United Kingdom, with first class honors and a Master of International Business from Monash University.