At Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, we count our people as our most precious asset. Leading them from the front and behind are our senior management team and, above them, our board of directors consisting of some corporate veterans who set the strategic direction for our company. The collective wisdom and experience of these seasoned executives are at the heart of our remarkable success as one of Sri Lanka’s largest and best-known food & beverage manufacturing & trading companies.
At the helm of CCS are a few renowned corporate captains, the visionary strategists who’re keen to propel our business to the next level of growth. We’re immeasurably grateful to them for what they bring to the table and are glad to note that much of our success owes to them.
Mr Balendra was appointed to the Board of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, on 1st January 2018 and was appointed as Chairman on 1st January 2019. He is also the Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC, the parent company of CCS. Also serving as the Director of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Hon. Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka, Mr Balendra has experience in the capacity of the former Chairman of Nations Trust Bank and the Colombo Stock Exchange. Having started his career at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong, in investment banking, focusing primarily on equity capital markets He joined JKH in 2002, having qualified in law at the University of London.
Mr Cooray was appointed to the Board of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, on 1st January 2018. He also serves in the capacity of the Deputy Chairman/Group Finance Director and has overall responsibility for the finance and accounting, taxation, corporate finance and strategy, treasury, IT functions, which also includes John Keells IT, and John Keells Research. Also serving as the Chairman of Nations Trust Bank PLC, and a committee member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Mr Cooray holds an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, Houston, Texas.
He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a Certified Management Accountant of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia and holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.
Mr Gamlath is the President of the Consumer Foods Industry Group. He joined the John Keells Group in 2002 and was the Sector Financial Controller of the IT Sector and then the Consumer Foods Industry Group. He was appointed as the Head of Beverages in 2013. Prior to JKH Group, he worked at Hayleys Group. Mr Gamlath holds a BSc. (Eng) degree from the University of Moratuwa, an MBA from the University of Colombo and is a passed finalist of the CIMA UK. He was appointed as a member of the JKH Group Operating Committee (GOC) in 2017 and member of the Group Executive Committee (GEC) in 2019.
Presently acting as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Consumer Foods industry group, Nelindra Fernando has been with John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) since 2013.Prior to her role as CFO, Nelindra was the Sector Financial Controller at the Consumer Foods Sector. With over 20 years of experience, Nelindra previously worked at MAS Holdings for ten ( 10) years, Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants for four [04] years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. She was appointed as a member of the John Keells Group Operating Committee (GOC) in 2018. Nelindra also serves as a Non Executive Director at Keells Food Products PLC board.
Appointed to the Board of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, on 15th May 2015, Mr Hamza brings over 30 years of managerial experience in the FMCG industry to the table. During his 28 year long career with Nestle in senior marketing and General Management positions in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Indonesia and Mr Hamza has played a significant role in transforming the Nestle’s role in Sri Lankan food and beverage market’ and had been instrumental in developing strong FMCG brands such as Nestomalt and Milo, which are the flagship brands of Nestle in Sri Lanka, today.
Presently he is also the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Handicraft Board – Laksala had been serving as the CEO/Director at Atlas Axillia (Pvt) Ltd, for a period of 5 years, prior. Mr Hamza holds a B. Com degree from the University of Peradeniya, an MBA from The American University in Washington DC and a Post Graduate degree in General Management from IMD, Switzerland.
Dr Wijeratnam was appointed to the Board of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, on 17th June 2016. A graduate of the University College London with a B.Sc Hons degree in Microbiology, Dr Wijeratnam obtained her PhD from the University of Cambridge, specializing in plant pathology and post-harvest technology.
She was the Head of the Food Technology Section and subsequently Additional Director Research and Development at the ITI (Former CISIR). Dr Wijeratnam was also the country representative for IAEA supported food irradiation programmes and has been a visiting scholar at Cornell University, RIKILT, Netherlands, the University of Hawaii, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Guelph.
She has served on the Board of Directors of the Atomic Energy Agency, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the National Science Foundation and was the Chairman of the Institute of Post-Harvest Technology.
In January 2017, she was appointed to the International Advisory Board of the “Feed the Future - Horticulture Innovation Lab”, at the University of California, Davis.
Ms. Ratwatte was appointed to the Board of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, on 17th June 2016. A Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, she also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Colombo. Ms. Ratwatte holds Non-Executive Directorships in BPPL PLC, a manufacturer and exporter of household and professional cleaning products and is a Trustee of the Sunera Foundation, a non-profit organisation empowering differently abled persons using the performing arts.
She is also the Founding Trustee and Former Chairperson of the Federation of Environmental Organisations, which works to support environmental organisations operating in Sri Lanka.
President of the Consumer Foods Industry Group, Daminda joined the John Keells Group in 2002 and served as the Financial Controller of the IT Sector and the Consumer Foods Industry Group; and the Head of Beverages. Prior to joining the JKH Group, he worked at Hayleys Group. Daminda is an Engineering Graduate of the University of Moratuwa, an MBA of the University of Colombo and is a finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK. He was appointed to the John Keells Group Operating Committee (GOC) in 2017 and to the Group Executive Committee (GEC) in 2019.
Presently acting as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Consumer Foods industry group, Nelindra Fernando has been with John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) since 2013.Prior to her role as CFO, Nelindra was the Sector Financial Controller at the Consumer Foods Sector. With over 20 years of experience, Nelindra previously worked at MAS Holdings for ten ( 10) years, Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants for four [04] years and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of UK and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. She was appointed as a member of the John Keells Group Operating Committee (GOC) in 2018. Nelindra also serves as a Non Executive Director at Keells Food Products PLC board.
Head of Supply Chain Management of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Sanjeewa joined the John Keells Group in 2010. Having worked at Unilever Sri Lanka for 14 years in different areas of the supply chain, he is an Associate of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka, and holds a BSc. Engineering degree from the University of Peradeniya and an MBA in Management of Technology from the University of Moratuwa.
Head of Frozen Confectionery category of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Sathish has over 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing functions in diverse industry sectors. Prior to joining JKH, he was attached to Unilever Sri Lanka for 14 years in sales, marketing, customer and trade marketing fields. He has also worked for Pure Beverages Ltd, Cargills Ceylon PLC, Bharti Airtel Lanka Ltd and Heineken Asia Pacific. Sathish holds a master’s degree from Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK) and a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).
Head of Human Resources of the Consumer Foods Industry Group, Nisansala joined the Group in 2015. Prior to that, she worked at Ceylon Grain Elevators PLC and Ansell Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. She is a life member of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the MBA Alumni Association of the University of Colombo, an Associate of Institute of Personnel Management (Sri Lanka) and holds an LL.B (Hons) degree from the University of Colombo, Attorney at Law from Sri Lanka Law College and an MBA in Human Resource Management from the University of Colombo.
Head of Beverage Category of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Jude joined the John Keells Group in 2020. Jude has over 15 years’ of experience in the FMCG sector, having started his career at Dialog Axiata and continuing at Unilever Sri Lanka, Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh & Reckitt Benckiser Sri Lanka. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Management from Edith Cowan University, Australia and a Diploma in Industrial Psychology. Jude is currently reading for his MBA at University of Colombo.
Head of Factory of Supply Chain of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Previously he was the Factory Manager of The Colombo Ice Company (Pvt) Ltd. Irsula joined John Keels Group in 2015. Prior to that, he worked at Unilever Sri Lanka for 8 years in the engineering function. He is an Associate of the Institute of Engineers Sri Lanka and holds a B.Sc. Engineering degree from the University of Moratuwa and an MBA in Management of Technology from the University of Moratuwa.
Head of Engineering for the Consumer Food sector, who joined the group in 2023. Geeth has over 20 years of experience in the industry. Prior to joining JKH, Geeth was the Head of Engineering for Ansell Textiles Lanka (Pvt) Ltd for 6 years and Fonterra Brands Lanka (Pvt) Ltd for 7 years. Geeth holds a B.Sc. (Eng.) Degree from the University of Moratuwa, MBA from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Master in Energy Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka and is a passed finalist of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK).
Head of Sales for the Frozen Confectionery category, Mahendra joined Ceylon Cold Stores PLC in 1991 and has 27 years experience in sales function in both Soft Drinks and Ice Cream categories.
Financial Controller of the Consumer Foods Industry Group. He joined the John Keells Group in 2022. He has over 18 years of experience in FMCG, Travel & Tourism, and Textile & Audit. Gihan is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Head of Sales for the Beverages Category of Ceylon Cold. Jayampathi joined the John Keells Group in 2022. He has over 20 years of experience in the FMCG, Telecommunication and Pharmaceuticals industries. Jayampathi holds Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing (CIM- UK), Masters in Business Studies from University of Colombo and Masters in Business Management from Postgraduate Institute of Management (USJ).
Head of Financial Planning and Analysis of Consumer Foods Industry Group. Sunera joined John Keells group in 2022. He has over 10 years of experience in the FMCG sector, having started his career at Hemas Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd. He holds an MBA from Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayawardenepura and is an Associate member of Chartered Institute of Management accountants - UK.
Head of Innovation and Product Development of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Udaya joined the John Keells Group in 2014. Prior to that, he has worked at Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC and Varun Beverages Lanka (Pvt) Ltd over 12 years and he has more than 18 years of experience in different areas of FMCG industry. Udaya holds a BSc. Degree in Microbiology from University of Kelaniya and MSc in Food Science & Technology from University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Head of Marketing – Frozen Confectionary of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Kasun has over 11 years of experience in brand marketing and sales working in multiple industries. Prior to joining JKH Kasun has worked in Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd. in telecommunication sector and Prima Group Sri Lanka. He holds Master degree in Business Administration from University of Wales, Cardiff, UK and post graduate diploma in Marketing from Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK.
Head of Marketing in the Beverages category of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, Dilshani joined the company in 2019. She has over 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing functions in diverse industry sectors including her stint at AkzoNobel Paints Lanka Pvt Ltd for 9 years in Marketing & Category Management functions. Dilshani holds a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).
Head of quality assurance of Ceylon Cold Stores, Nirosh has 20+ years of experience in the FMCG food and beverage sector.Having held key roles in R & D , quality and regulatory affairs. Nirosh hold the BSc. (Agri) Special degree from University of Peradeniya and MBA from the Post Graduate Institute of Management from University of Sri Jayawardenapura.
Head of Tax of John Keells Consumer Food and Retail Industry Group. Thushani has over 13 years of experience in tax compliance and tax advisory services for clients of a diversified portfolio. Thushani joined the John Keells Group in 2021; having previously served at Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka for a last 10 years. Thushani is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and holds a B.Sc. Finance (Special) degree from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.
Factory Manager of The Colombo Ice Company (Pvt) Ltd, Previously he was the Head of Production of The Colombo Ice Company (Pvt) Ltd. Indunil has over 20 years of experience in Ice Cream Manufacturing, Process Design and R&D. He holds a master’s degree in food science and technology from the University of Sri Jayawardenepura and bachelor’s degree in applied sciences from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka.
Iranda joined with CCS back in 2005 and has 20+ years of experience having held key roles in Business Systems and Information and Communication Technology. Iranda holds the BSc. Mangement Information Systems degree from the University College Dublin and the MBA in Project Mangement from the Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Damith joined with CCS in 2021 and he has previous experience in Avery Dennison, Fonterra Brands Lanka and MAS Holdings. Damith holds the BSc. Engineering degree from University of Moratuwa and the MBA from University of Sri Jayawardenapura. In addition, Damith holds the MSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Mangement from Birhimham City University, UK.
