The Board of Directors of Union Bank of Colombo PLC announced the appointment of Dinesh Weerakkody a distinguished banker and financial advisor with vast experience as an Independent Non-executive Director, with effect from 01 April 2024.
Dinesh Weerakkody is a former Chairman of Hatton National Bank PLC and Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and a Director of DFCC Bank. Weerakkody is the Vice Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon, immediate Past Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka and the Senior Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors of Sri Lanka and Director of several companies.
He is currently an Advisor on Treasury Affairs to the President and the Chairman of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. He is also a former Chairman of the Employees Trust Fund Board of Sri Lanka, the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka and the National Human Resource Development Council of Sri Lanka. He was also an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs and to the Minister of Tourism Development and Lands.
He is a Graduate in Business Administration, a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom, a Fellow Member of the Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, Professional Member of the Singapore Human Resource Institute, with an MBA from the University of Leicester in England and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the American National Business University USA.
Weerakkody has received extensive Leadership, Economic and Finance, HR, and Management training in the UK, USA, France, Japan, Singapore and India. In 2008, he was conferred an Honorary membership by the Institute of Personnel Management of Sri Lanka for his contribution to Human Resources Management in Sri Lanka. He is a recipient of a Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award TOYP in 1999 and the International Associations of Lions Clubs National Achievers Award in 2008 for the advancement of good governance in the public sector and the OPA Apex Award for Banking and Finance in 2022. He was conferred National Honours - Sri Lanka Sikhamani in 2019.