Board of Directors
Chairman - Executive Director
Mr. Frits Bogtstra
Mr. Frits Bogtstra holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering from the University of London and a Masters degree in Business Administration with a focus on Competitive Strategy, Corporate Financial Strategy and International Enterprise from the OUBS in Milton Keynes.He has experience in the ICT field and has developed software relating to real time data capture and analysis in production systems as well as quality control, medical equipment, and ballistics.He has experience working in Germany and Austria for reputed companies in the fields of IT and financial controlling, developing control system and processes for efficient and cost optimized production and related logistics.
This work involved using modern methods of data capture, “Just in sequence” and “Just in Time” supply methods to minimize cost of capital bound by material in work.During his tenure in the company, he has gained a vast insight into the intricacies of the plantation industry and the issues and processes involved. He was appointed Chairman on 4 December 2015.
Other appointments
- Director of Wayamba Plantations (Private) Limited and Bogtstra & Gerlach (Pvt) Ltd.
Managing Director
Mr. Lucas Bogtstra
Mr Lucas Bogtstra has served on many Private Sector Boards and has been actively involved in the Import, Export, Manufacturing and Agricultural fields.
He joined the Company in 1998 and was appointed to the Boards of Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC and its Holding Company – Wayamba Plantations (Pvt) Limited in 2003.
Mr. Bogtstra acted as the Director Operations of the Company from 2003 and in December 2015 was appointed as its Managing Director.
During his tenure as Director Operations, he was instrumental in setting up and managing both the Export Arm of the Company and its modern Warehousing Complex in Wattala.
Since taking over as Managing Director he has spearheaded many diversification projects for the Company which will help it to propel future income streams and deliver greater value to its shareholders.
Other appointments
• Director of Wayamba Plantations (Private) Limited, Bogtstra & Gerlach (Pvt) Ltd and Holco (Ceylon) (Private) Limited.
Director/Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Shanaka D Samaradiwakara
Mr. Shanaka D Samaradiwakara
Mr. Shanaka D Samaradiwakara commenced his career in the private sector in 1989 concluding his secondary education at Royal College, and joined the Plantation sector in 1992 with JEDB. He is a senior planter with over 3 decades of experience, managing plantations and is a Fellow member of the National Institute of Plantation Management and holds a Diploma in Plantation Management from the NIPM, and a MBA from Horizons University, France. He possesses an extensive experience in the manufacture, Cultivation, Processing, Packaging, Warehousing & exporting key crops such as Tea, spices, & other export agricultural crops. Having joined Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC in 2014, was appointed the Director, Chief Executive Officer on 01st August 2019.
Other appointments
- Deputy Chairman, Planters Association of Ceylon, Chairman, Plantation Services group & Council Member of the Employers Federation of Ceylon,. Board Director, Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT).
- Member, Tea manufacturing and Growing Wages Board of the Ministry of Labour.
Director Finance
Mr. K. G. M. Piyaratne
Mr. Piyaratne is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants of UK, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) of Canada and Masters degree holder of Management and information Technology from University of Kelaniya.
He is a Senior Chartered Accountant with over twenty-five years Experience in Industry and Commerce. He was reappointed to the Board as Director Finance of Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC in 2015.
Prior to joining the Company he served as an Accountant, Mahaweli Engineering & Construction Agency. Manager, Someswaran Jayawickrama & Co. He has also served as Director Finance, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Chief Accountant, Ceylinco Cisco Security Corporation (Pvt) Ltd., and Ernst & Young, Doha, State of Qatar as Audit/Tax Accountant
Independent Director
Mr. Chamindra de Silva
Mr. Chamindra De Silva is a senior Chartered Accountant with over thirty-five years of post-qualifying experience in industry and commerce. He was appointed as a member of the Council of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 2017 and was its head of audit committee till December 2019. He was the Chairman of the Audit Committee and Related Party Transactions Review Committee and a Member of the Finance and Administration Monitoring Committee of Malwatte Valley Plantations PLC during the period under review. Mr Chamindra de Silva has retired from Alliance Finance Company PLC with effect from 1st July, 2020.
Mr. Chamindra de Silva has been a former Vice-President of the ACCA (UK)- Sri Lanka Branch and a Member of the Council of CIMA Sri Lanka Branch, having completed both CIMA and ACCA examinations in the late 1970s. He has also been a Member of the Institute of Marketing UK, the Institute of Management Services UK and a recipient of the CIMA award for the Accounting & Information Systems in the Colombo University’s MBA program 1989/90.
He has extensive experience in the field of managerial education specialising in the fields of Finance and Strategy and has functioned for over a decade as the Course Director for Financial Management in the prestigious MBA program University of Colombo. He has also been the Chief Examiner for Financial Management at the Country’s Premier Accounting Body, the Institute of Chartered Accountant’s of Sri Lanka and currently an active participant in the ICASL’s Graduate and Post Graduate Management Education Programme.
Sub-Committee Membership
• Member of Audit Committee, Related Party Transactions Review Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nominations and Governance Committee.
Independent Director
Mr. Zal Chitty
Mr. Zal Chitty was educated at Royal College Colombo and is a professional in the Tea Industry counting 40 years’ experience as a Tea Broker. He has also been extensively involved in Shipping, Logistics and Agriculture holding positions of responsibility at Senior Management levels. As a Director of Colombo Shipping Company Ltd, Sea Land Colombo (Pvt) Ltd and Lloyd Serendib Ltd he has in past years handled the Sri Lankan and Indian Sub- Continent interests of major international Shipping Lines such as Sea Land Service USA and CGM France, accounting for some of the largest volumes of export, import and container transshipment through the Port of Colombo. He is a keen sportsman having represented Sri Lanka in Shooting and Golf. He competed in the Olympic Games in 1988.
Other appointments
• Director of Colombo Shipping Company Ltd, Eastern Management Services Limited, Intertravels Ltd, Caxton Printing Works Limited and Lloyd Serendib Limited.
Sub-Committee Membership
• Member of the Audit Committee, Related Party Transactions Review Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nominations and Governance Committee.
• Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and Nominations and Governance Committee.
Independent Director
Wilfred Avindra de Silva
Mr. Wilfred Avindra de Silva Joined Forbes & Walker Tea and Produce Brokers in January 1978 as a Trainee executive and moved on to Brooke Bond Ceylon Ltd in November 1979. Continued to work for the combined Tea businesses of Brooke Bond and Lipton post the acquisition by Unilever PLC in 1984. Worked continuously for 38 Years in the Tea procurement and export business operations of Unilever Tea inclusive of a 2-year secondment in the United Kingdom. During this period, Mr. De Silva held the following leadership positions in the trade:
- Tea Exporters Association – Chairman (2006-2008)
- Colombo Tea Traders Association – Chairman (2008-2010)
- Sri Lanka Tea Board – Director (2009-2010)
- National Tea Council – Member (2012)
- Sri Lanka Tea Board Promotion and Marketing Committee 2022/23 – Member
After retiring from Unilever Tea at the end of 2017, Mr. De Silva continued to work as a consultant for different business entities of Unilever – Unilever International Ekaterra Ceylon Ltd post the sale of Unilever Tea business and Finlay Plantations in Sri Lanka from 2019 – 2021.
Sub-Committee Membership
• Member of Audit Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nominations and Governance Committee w.e.f 02.02.2024.
• Chairman of Related Party Transactions Review Committee w.e.f 02.02.2024.
Independent Director
Mr. Dilantha Stephen Seneviratne
Mr. Dilantha Stephen Seneviratne is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (FCA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (FCMA) with over 36 years of post-qualifying experience in Finance, Corporate Management & Commercial operations in the Plantation / Corporate sector.
Mr. Seneviratne served as a Director at Hayleys Plantation Services (Pvt) Ltd, and Director/ Chief Executive Officer, of Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC. With over two decades of experience in Finance and Corporate Management, Mr. Seneviratne has made a significant contribution to the plantation sector.
He was Chairman of the CSR Steering Committee of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. He also served as a Trustee of the Plantation Trust Fund, Member of Employers Federation of Ceylon and Planters Association sub committees, and Steering Committee on IAS 41 – Agriculture of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Other appointments
• Director of Kahawatte Plantations PLC.
Sub-Committee Membership
• Member of Related Party Transactions Review Committee, Remuneration Committee and Nominations and Governance Committee w.e.f 02.02.2024..
• Chairman of Audit Committee w.e.f 02.02.2024…