Board Of Directors

Committed to supporting and growing Continental Insurance, our Board of Directors comprises of industry professionals, academics, technical experts and most of all, those with a keen passion for providing reliable insurance to our community. Guiding our success, our Board of Directors are leaders with a clear vision on Continental Insurance and its future. One of the Founder Directors of the company, Chaminda De Silva has been a part of the Group since 2003. He began his service under the leadership of Founder Chairman D.H.S. Jayawardena. He has over a decade’s experience in the insurance and hospitality sectors, having worked in marketing, sales and strategy, prior to joining the DCSL Group. Qualified in Business Administration, UK, Strategic Marketing, University of Michigan Business School, Insurance Business with Structured Marketing approach Singapore College of Insurance. He is also a Fellow member of the Institute of Administrative Management, United Kingdom, Fellow member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, FCIM, UK, Member of the Chartered Management, MCMI, (UK) As Managing Director, Chaminda De Silva’s prime focus is on ensuring that all angles of sustainability are achieved across all areas. His varied experience provides great insight and a wealth of knowledge towards the development of the company. His dynamic leadership and clear strategic direction steers Continental Insurance on its quest to achieve rapid growth and profitability while redefining insurance itself, and its service, in the country.

Chandula Abeywickrema is the Co-Founder of Ath Pavura the first ever TV reality show for Social Entrepreneurs and Impact Investor in Sri Lanka telecasting on the largest national TV network. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Lanka Impact Investing Network (LIIN) which is the first of its kind agency on impact investing with the purpose of investing in existing and emerging social enterprises, promoting social entrepreneurship across Sri Lanka. LIIN founded the first ever social impact funds in Sri Lanka in partnership with UNDP and launched platform dedicated for women social entrepreneurs and that promotes gender lens investing. An accomplished and respected senior commercial banker with lead expertise and experience in retail and development banking. Chandula Abeywickrema has a proven track record of over 30 years and is recognized in Asia as an expert in Financial Inclusion. Chandula Abeywickrema spearheaded the retail and development banking strategy as the Deputy General Manager of Hatton National Bank (HNB).He has provided management and strategic direction of HNB’s SME and Microfinance Portfolio for which he was responsible. Currently serves in the boards of a number of financial institutions in Sri Lanka, and is the Chairman of PEOPLE’S MERCHANT FINANCE PLC. Chandula Abeywickrema holds a Bachelor of Commerce , from University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka and he has joined Continental Insurance as an Independent Director in January 2021.

Thomas Daetwyler hails from Switzerland. He holds a Degree in Education from the University of Zurich and a Degree Expert in Commercial from High School Zurich. He is a Diploma Holder in the Avira Programme in Switzerland and the Insead Executive Management Programme in Singapore. Thomas Daetwyler counts a wealth of commercial experience in Sri Lanka and overseas. He is currently a Member of the Board of Joseph Fraser Memorial Hospital and a Past President of Board of Trustees of Joseph Fraser Home Trust. He is a Director of the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka and a member of Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. He is also a founder member of Swiss Business Circle and the Austrian Business Circle in Sri Lanka. He was appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Latvia in Sri Lanka in 2001 and later promoted to Honorary Consul General in 2007. In 2019 he was appointed as the Honorary Consul of Austria in Sri Lanka.

With over 14 years of experience, Mr. Hettiarachchi has acquired a wealth of knowledge and know-how in Information Technology. He is a results-oriented leader in the IT industry and is highly skilled in managing projects, complex IT solution designs and engineering principles. He is proficient in infrastructure analysis which helps drive business development while achieving customer-focused success. Mr. Hettiarachchi has over 10 years’ experience in general insurance. He is a PMP and has acquired a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from the University of Canterbury, UK and Bachelor of Information Technology in Computer Engineering from The Open University of Sri Lanka.