Veteran banker K.E.D. Sumanasiri has assumed duties as General Manager of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), Sri Lanka’s number one commercial bank.

Sumanasiri assumed duties as General Manager of the bank commencing from August 16, 2021.
Sumanasiri, who joined the bank in 1990, rose up in the different grades as a career banker and has been a Deputy General Manager, that is a member of the bank’s corporate management team since 2013. His experience and industry acumen as a banker range across many key areas of banking.

His contribution in retail banking, micro and corporate finance and human resource development has contributed immensely to the bank’s development. Over the years, he has played many roles such as Area Manager, Operations Manager and Assistant General Manager, leading him to gain a deep insight into banking in practice.
After his Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Business Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ), Sumanasiri persevered in his efforts to be an effective professional banker, thus gained the Associate Membership of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka and Chartered Institute of Personal Management Sri Lanka.

He has undergone many professional and career trainings. Among them the following stand out: The Linkage 20 Conversations Leadership Programme conducted by Harvard Business School of the USA and Management Development Programme for Key Management Personal, Special Management Course of Higher Management and Public Policy for Business Leadership conducted by Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM).

Sumanasiri has been a noteworthy contributor towards the career development of aspiring bankers. His contribution as the faculty member of the bank’s training institute is well acclaimed by the industry peers. As the manager training, his services towards uplifting the knowledge, professional acumen, career and skill development of the staff is immeasurable.

With the dawn of the peace time in the north after 30 long years of conflict, he was given the responsibility of uplifting the livelihood of the resettled population and to inject the business confidence and financial management hitherto grief-stricken and panicked masses of the region. As Assistant General Manager Northern province, he played a remarkable role in achieving this. He saw the successful upward trend in the economic activities of the area and was able to boost the delivery channels of the area considerably. Microfinance and retail bank took an unprecedented turn around during his tenure as AGM North.

As Senior Deputy General Manager Human Resources he was very quick in adopting the health guidelines recommended by the health authorities effectively in all BOC branches and head office. This minimised exposure to the pandemic for both customers and employees. His focus on safety of the lives of all stakeholders of the bank was remarkable. The human first HR policy successfully adopted by the bank gave BOC the edge as the people-centric bank in the financial landscape of the country.

The competence and potential demonstrated by Sumanasiri over the years, both as a professional banker and a compassionate human being within the bank’s corporate management, led to him being the choice for the task chief helmsman for steering BOC ahead as ‘Bankers to the Nation’