Hemas at a
Glance.
Established in 1948, Hemas started with a simple intent: Empower Families to Aspire for a Better Tomorrow. This core belief has informed our growth for over 70 years. Today, as a leading public quoted company with over 4,500 employees, we bring healthful living to life through a portfolio of world-class products and services in the Consumer, Healthcare and Mobility sectors.
Woven into the socioeconomic fabric of Sri Lanka, Hemas has also expanded regionally with operations in Bangladesh and West Bengal. In our onward journey, we will continue to invest in diverse and passionate teams, create meaningful offerings, cultivate trusted partnerships, and champion a more inclusive world, so that we continue to create positive impact for all our stakeholders.
History & Milestones
We were born in the year of Ceylon’s independence, December 10th 1948.
Our founder, Sheikh Hassanally Esufally, a gentleman of high ethical principles established Hemas on a bedrock of solid business values. These principles of integrity, fair play, perseverance and professionalism became an important part of our business style that helped to build our reputation and direct our progress.
The original business, Hemas (Drugs) Limited, was set up as a wholesale and retail Chemist & Druggist in Dam Street, the heart of the wholesale trading center of Colombo. By 1951, this was expanded to include "Science House" which was dealing with laboratory supplies and equipment. To house the growing business our founder developed the 'Hemas Building' in Bristol Street in Colombo Fort. This six storied building housed the 'Hemas Group' and became a city landmark.
Seeking to maintain the entrepreneurial thrust of our founder, we moved into our various diversifications activities, starting with manufacturing of toiletries in 1962 in collaboration with a French multinational. In the Seventies we moved into the blossoming travel and tourism sector and over the years established ourselves in a leading position. In 1993 we restructured and renamed the original business as 'Hemas Holdings (pte) Limited' to be our driving force into the 21st century and in 2003 we became a public quoted company listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Whilst we have changed dramatically in profile, our basic premise in doing business remains steadfast to our founders vision. Any Hemas business must first be governed by our unwavering commitment to high business ethics and customer satisfaction.
Board of Directors
Board of Management
Husein Esufally
Chairman
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Husein Esufally started his career with the Group's FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) business, where he steered the Company for a period of 19 years, during which, the business established a strong consumer franchise. Thereafter, he served for 13 years as the Chief Executive Officer of the Hemas Group until he relinquished his position in March 2014. Presently, he serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of Hemas Holdings PLC, whilst also chairing the Boards of its FMCG and pharmaceutical manufacturing subsidiaries. Mr. Esufally is presently the Non-Executive Chairman of Janashakthi Insurance PLC. He also serves on the Boards of several other companies and is involved in several social projects. Mr. Esufally holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Electronics from the University of Sussex, UK having received his primary education at St. Thomas College, Mt Lavinia.
Dr. Anura Ekanayake
Deputy Chairman
Independent Non-Executive Director
Dr. Anura Ekanayake is a former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Association of Sri Lanka and The International Natural Rubber Council. He has had an illustrious career in public service serving as a Senior Economist of the Mahaweli Authority, Director on the Boards of the State Plantations Corporation and JEDB, Director of Planning to the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Director General of the Ministry of Public Administration. Dr. Ekanayake held directorships in all 23 regional plantations companies and also served on the Tea Research Board, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture and Plantation Housing and Social Welfare Development Trust. He Left his two decade Long public service and joined Unilever Sri Lanka and served as Director - Human Resources and Corporate Relations for 8 years. He serves at present on a number of boards of listed companies and non-Listed companies. Dr. Ekanayake, holds a B.A. (Horns) and MSc (Agriculture) from the University of Peradeniya and a Ph.D in Economics from the Australian National University. He is also a Fellow Member of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers. Dr. Ekanayake is a firm advocate of developing human capital and people transformation.
Abbas Esufally
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
With over 40 years’ experience in the tourism industry, Mr. Abbas Esufally has played a pivotal role in expanding the Group’s Leisure interest. He serves as a Group Director of Hemas Holdings PLC and Chairman of Diethelm Travel Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. He has played an active part in the growth and development of the country’s tourism industry.
He also serves on several other listed and unlisted company boards. Mr. Esufally also acts as the Deputy Chairperson for AYATI Trust, Sri lanka, a Center of Excellence for children with disabilities. Mr. Esufally is a Fellow Member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He is an all Island Justice of Peace and serves as the Honorary Consul of Bhutan in Sri Lanka.
Imtiaz Esufally
Non-Independent Non- Executive Director
Mr. Imtiaz Esufally serves as the Chairman of the Transportation Sector of the Group and serves as a Member of the Hemas Audit Committee. He served as the Chairman of Hemas Power PLC until its disposal in 2014. Mr. Esufally holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of Kent, UK. He counts over 25 years of management experience and has been in the forefront of the Transportation industry in Sri Lanka.
Murtaza Esufally
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Murtaza Esufally counts more than 25 years of experience in senior management levels. He is the Chairman of Hemas Hospitals (Pvt) Ltd and Hemas Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd, and is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Centre for Poverty Analysis. He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School of the University of Melbourne, He is a Barrister of the Lincoln's Inn and holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Essex, UK. Mr. Esufally is an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
Saktha Amaratunga
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Saktha Amaratunga joined the Board in January 2016. Mr. Amaratunga is currently a Commissioner of PT Agro Indomas Indonesia and is also a Member of the Upstream and Downstream Audit Sub Committee of Goodhope Asia Holdings Ltd a subsidiary of the Carson Cumberbatch Group. He was previously Regional Audit Controller (Asia Pacific) for British American Tobacco. He has more than 20 years' experience with British American Tobacco. having performed senior finance roles for the Group in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. and also being the Finance Director of British American Tobacco operations in the Czech Republic, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Japan and Malaysia (IT Shared Services Organisation). He has many years of experience in Strategy Development, Business Restructuring, Risk and Governance, International Finance and People Development. He is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and also a Member of CPA Australia.
Prabhash Subasinghe
Independent Non-Executive Director
Prabhash Subasinghe is renown entrepreneur in Sri Lanka. He is best known for his rapid success in starting companies that have built a global presence. He is driven by his vision to build multinational companies out of Sri Lanka., Prabhash studied Applied Economics and Business at the prestigious Ivy League Cornell University and higher studies at the Harvard Business School. He has diverse business interests in specialty tires, seafood, insurance, banking, luxury real estate and has become a true Asian success story.
Prabhash is a proven leader with a steadfast passion to build great companies. He is the founder of GRI (Global Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd.) a manufacturer of high-performance specialty tires, which sells its products across the world, and of GSF (Global Sea Foods Pvt. Ltd.) a processor and supplier of high-quality seafood to Europe, US and Japan specializing in fresh, frozen, and raw seafood. GRI operates one of the largest and most advanced specialty tire production plants in Sri Lanka while GSF pioneered the processing of wakame, and sushi topping for the Japanese market and owns the largest industrial long-line fishing fleet in South Asia. Prabhash founded Ayenka Holdings, an Investment Company that has a large and diverse portfolio of investments in the Colombo Stock Exchange and a luxury real estate project in the Maldives. Prabhash is the principal shareholder of Ceylinco Insurance PLC, the largest listed insurer in Sri Lanka. He has investments in Sanasa Development Bank (SDB) and is a prominent shareholder of Sampath Bank, one of the largest private banks in Sri Lanka. Prabhash is the immediate past Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB).
The Global Group of companies that Prabhash leads has ten offices around the world and has 1200 employees covering sixteen nationalities. Prabhash is passionate about building a truly Sri Lanka, diversified business group and taking Sri Lanka to the world. He envisions being a catalyst for the next generation of corporate growth in Sri Lanka.
Ranil Pathirana
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Ranil Pathirana has extensive experience in finance and management in financial, apparel and energy sectors.
He serves as a Director of the Hirdaramani Group which includes Apparel, Leisure & Investment Holding Companies. He is also the Managing Director for Hirdaramani International Exports (Pvt) Ltd. The Hirdaramani Group has apparel manufacturing facilities across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Ethiopia.
He also serves on the Boards of several listed entities.
Mr. Ranil Pathirana is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (FCMA - UK) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Ajith Fernando
Independent Non-Executive Director
Ajith Fernando has over 35 years of experience in the financial sector, focusing on capital markets. He founded Capital Alliance Group in 2000 and served as its CEO until December 2023. Under his leadership, the company became a leading investment bank in Sri Lanka and expanded to Bangladesh.
Ajith is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and holds an MA in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo.
Outside of finance, Ajith serves as Chairman of Sri Lanka Technology Campus (Pvt) Ltd., an educational institution, and operates as Director of Ceylon Tea Brokers PLC and many private companies.
Supun Weerasinghe
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Supun Weerasinghe is the Executive Director and Group Chief Executive at Dialog Axiata PLC, a position he holds since 2017. His career in telecommunications began with Dialog in 1999, where he progressed through various key roles, including Head of Strategy, CEO of the Mobile Business, and Group Chief Operating Officer.
In 2013, Mr. Weerasinghe functioned as the Group Chief Strategy Officer at Axiata Group Berhad in Malaysia. He then led Robi Axiata Limited in Bangladesh as the CEO and Managing Director from 2014 to 2016. Mr. Weerasinghe serves on the Board of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and UNGC Network, Sri Lanka.
He is a Fellow Certified Management Accountant, Sri Lanka, Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Financial Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Mr. Weerasinghe holds an MBA from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.
Thusitha Perera
Independent Non-Executive Director
Thusitha Perera has many years of local and international experiences in International Finance, managing Global Business Services, Financial Planning, Business development and People Development. She counts 23 years of experience with two Global multinationals Holcim (16) and Michelin (7). She held multiple international roles in Holcim, namely Commercial Controller in Australia, Regional Controller based in Switzerland for South-east Asia (in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand) and Finance Director in Philippines. The last role held was the CFO/Executive Director of Michelin Lanka Pvt Ltd upto August 2024. She also currently serves on the Board of Capital Alliance Holdings Limited as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Thusitha Perera is a passionate contributor to people development, Diversity and Process excellence. Thusitha Perea is a Member of CPA Australia and holds a Master’s Degree from QUT Australia on International Business.
Ravi Jayasekera
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Ravi is the Group Chief People Officer and counts over 20 years of leadership experience in Human Resources. Prior to joining Hemas, Ravi was the Vice President HR at Union Bank of Colombo. His previous experience in HR includes successful stints as Head of HR for HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives, Head of HR for HSBC Australia, Head of HR for HSBC Mauritius and Senior Manager HR for Group Retail Banking based in Hong Kong.
Prior to joining HSBC, Ravi worked at Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank in several HR roles which included HR Operations, Employee Relations, Industrial Relations and Compensation and Benefits. Ravi started his career with ANZ Grindlays Bank and worked in Information Technology and Credit Cards businesses prior to moving to a career in Human Resources.
Ravi holds a MBA from the University of Western Sydney, Australia and currently serves as a Vice President of the Association of HR Professionals of Sri Lanka.
Dinesh Athapaththu
Managing Director
Morison Limited
Dinesh Athapaththu is the Managing Director of Morison Limited. He is an Fellow member of Charted Institute of Management Accountants (UK) and has Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kelaniya. He also completed his MBA from the same university. Dinesh joined with Morison Limited in 2016 as Director Finance and Commercial and appointed as the Chief Operating Officer in 2019. Dinesh Started his career at Brandix as a cost executive and progressed up to be the Finance Controller at Brandix Textile Ltd. He held positions of Financial controller and regional financial controller for Indonesian based plantations of Good Hope Asia Holdings from 2010 to 2016
Jude Fernando
Managing Director
Hemas Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd
Jude Fernando joined Hemas Pharmaceuticals in August 2020. Prior to re-joining Hemas he served as the Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Janashakthi Insurance PLC since 2014.He brings with him over 26 years of experience in senior positions across the fields of finance, supply chain management, sales and marketing, and international marketing, including the roles of Director/CEO of Janashakthi insurance PLC, Director/ CEO Kotmale Holdings PLC, and Executive Director – Sales & Distribution for Cargills Manufacturing Brands. He has served on the Boards of Dunamis Capital PLC, Kelsey Homes, and First Capital Holdings PLC. Jude held the position of Director Supply Chain of Hemas Manufacturing prior taking up the role of Director/ CEO post at Kotmale PLC in 2008. An Accountant by profession, Jude holds an MBA from the University of Wales and is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (UK), a Fellow Member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (UK) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK). He also completed the Executive Leadership Development program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Lakith Peiris
Managing Director
Hemas Hospitals (Pvt) Ltd
Lakith joined Hemas on 01st April 2015. He is a well-known leader in the Healthcare industry having been the CEO of one of the most successful city hospitals over the past 7 years. He has over 20 years' experience in top management at a host of healthcare related MNCs including BiBraun Asia Pacific, Lifesery and ConvaTec A Bristol Myers Squibb Company of USA amongst others. He holds a Doctorate in Business & Management, an MBA from University of Western Sydney, Australia, and is a Certified Professional Marketer from the Asia Pacific Marketing Federation and holds a Postgraduate DipLoma in Marketing from the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. Lakith has memberships in several professionaL Associations and Federations. He is a Member of the Private Health Services Regulatory Council of the Ministry of Health and also serves the Regulatory CounciL in various sub-committees.
Asitha Samaraweera
Managing Director
Atlas Axillia Company (Pvt) Ltd
Asitha Samaraweera currently is the Managing Director of Atlas Axillia Co Ltd., a Hemas Holdings group company. Atlas Axillia Co Ltd is one of Sri Lanka’s most respected local brands and is a market leader in school stationery and notebooks, pens, pencils and colour products, with products retailed in over 70,000 outlets across Sri Lanka.
Before his current role he counts over 12 years’ experience in leading FMCG businesses both in Sri Lanka and overseas. Asitha was the CEO of CBL Cocos (Pvt) Ltd., and CBL Global Foods, both subsidiaries of Ceylon Biscuits Limited before joining Atlas Axilla. The company was a leading player in the coconut products industry with a substantial export interest.
Prior to his role at CBL, Asitha headed IFFCO (Frozen Foods) and GFI – leading Dubai-based FMCG companies for six years. The two companies are leading processed meat and frozen bakery product manufactures in the Middle East.
Prior to his stint in the middle east he served as CEO of Keells Food Products and Vice President at John Keells Holdings PLC. Keells food Products PLC is the leading processed food manufacturer and marketer in Sri Lanka.
Asitha began his career with Nestle joining as a management training and rising in the ranks in the marketing arena. In his career in marketing he was involved in many successful campaigns which included the Nestomalt’s defeat of Powermalt which is now a well know case study.
He has a background in Marketing with an MSc in International Accounting and Finance, London School of Economics one of the leading universities in the world. He also has a BSc in Business Administration, Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA. His Schooling was at St Thomas College, Mount Lavinia.
Sabrina Esufally
Managing Director
Hemas Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd
Sabrina Esufally is the Managing Director of Hemas Consumer Brands. She leads cross functional teams in sales, marketing, innovation and supply chain to drive growth and market share in the company’s home and personal care business. Sabrina joined the Hemas group in 2019, where she headed Business Development at Morison PLC, the group’s pharmaceutical and OTC manufacturing vertical. She then transitioned to Hemas Consumer Brands in 2020, where she drove portfolio growth and brand development in emerging categories in beauty and wellness.
Sabrina is passionate about creating brands that innovate and advocate for a more equitable society. During her time at Hemas Consumer Brands, Sabrina has led initiatives to enable the above through product solutions and cause-based marketing in feminine hygiene, inclusive beauty and parenting.
Sabrina is an Attorney of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and holds a First Class Honours from the University of Durham, UK. She also holds a LLM from Harvard Law School. Sabrina is currently enrolled in the Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Mushin Kitchilan
Director
Mobility Sector
Mushin Kitchilan leads the Mobility Sector of Hemas Holdings, and was appointed the Director of the sector in January 2022. Having started his career in 2007 when he joined Hemas as a trainee finance executive, he rose through the ranks of the group, holding several leadership roles in finance, including serving the Mobility Sector as Finance Controller. In 2017, he was assigned to head the Evergreen Line agency operations, which kickstarted his career in commercial operations. Having spearheaded many logistics and maritime initiatives for the sector, he was appointed the Director of the Mobility sector in 2022.
In addition to his career at Hemas, he is actively engaged in shaping Sri Lanka’s logistics and maritime industry, and has been serving as an Executive Committee Member of the Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents since 2020/2021. He is also a member of the sector committee on Transport and Logistics of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce since 2021.
Mushin holds an MBA from the University of Wales, and is an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK).
Moiz Rehmanjee
Group Chief Financial Officer
Moiz H Rehmanjee is the Chief Financial Officer of Hemas Holdings PLC, bringing over twenty years of diverse experience across multiple industries and multinational corporations, during which period he has held leadership roles in Sri Lanka and overseas, including in Forbes-listed companies.
His career began at KPMG, progressing through significant roles including Finance Director at Reckitt Benckiser Philippines and Sri Lanka, Chief Operating Officer at Teejay Lanka PLC, and Group Chief Financial Officer at Hela Apparel Holdings. Moiz's expertise spans corporate finance, supply chain management, investor relations, tax planning, and IT projects, making him a versatile leader in the finance domain.
Moiz has demonstrated exceptional leadership and strategic vision, successfully driving growth, acquisition integrations, and new business development. His efforts in spearheading investor roadshows have led to double-digit market-cap growth, while his operational roadmaps have doubled business profit margins.
Additionally, Moiz Rehmanjee has been appointed as a member of the ACCA Sri Lanka Member Network Panel.
He is a member of ACCA (UK), CA Sri Lanka, and CIMA / CGMA (UK).
Rizny Faisal
Chief Strategy and Growth Officer
Rizny Faisal leads Strategy and Mergers and Acquisition for Hemas Holdings. Prior to his role in Hemas, Rizny headed the Equity Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions team at CAL. a leading Investment Bank in Sri Lanka, where he has been at the forefront of concluding several landmark ECM and M&A transactions across buy-side, sell-side and cross border transactions in healthcare, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, utilities , information technology, materials and industrials.
He was also an integral part of the Mergers and Acquisitions team at PwC Sri Lanka for five years where he managed several transactions for local and foreign clients in the capacity of buy-side advisor, sell-side advisor and financial due diligence advisor across multiple verticals including financial services, consumer staples, consumer discretionary, utilities, communication services and industrials.
Prior to his stint at PwC Sri Lanka, he was attached to Amba Research (Subsidiary of Moody’s Analytics), where he assisted a global asset manager with his research on companies across sectors predominantly in North America, Europe and South-East Asia. Rizny Faisal started his career as an auditor for KPMG Sri Lanka, where he assisted with audits for companies in Financial Services, Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary.
Rizny Faisal is a CFA charter holder (USA) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (UK). His schooling was at St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.
Chulanga Perera
Group Chief Technology and Transformation Officer
Chulanga Perera is the Group Chief Technology and Transformation officer and leads the IT, Digital, Shared Services and Transformation for the Hemas Group. Prior to joining Hemas, his career started out in Investment banking after which he transitioned into the field of technology and innovation.
He graduated from New York with an honors dual degree in Finance, Mathematics and Business Administration. Throughout his career, he has established and led global high performing teams as their Chief Information officer and Chief Transformation Officer in leading MNCs in the manufacturing and automotive industry focusing on complete business transformation enabled by technology, cost optimization, data analytics and digitalization.
He has also served on the Board of a luxury automotive firm and was promoted as the youngest VP globally for that firm.