A financial services sector professional Nishaman Karunapala assumed duties as the General Manager / CEO of the HDFC Bank. After assuming office as the CEO HDFC Nishaman told the gathering at the welcome ceremony that he would work for the betterment of the bank aiming to meet and exceed customer expectations through service excellence. He was optimistic about the bank’s future and said it is needed to expand the product portfolio and operations.

Nishaman has experience particularly in the areas of corporate strategy, systems & process development, risk management, business development; trade and project finance, leasing and factoring.

He was the founding Director/Chief Executive Officer of Melsta Regal Finance Ltd – a former subsidiary of Melstacorp PLC for over five years; prior to its acquisition by a consortium of foreign and private equity investors. Nishaman led the strategizing and positioning of the entity as a revolutionary player in the industry with novel product offerings. Subsequently, he also served as CEO of the Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka and Finance PLC and Director of MBSL Insurance Co. Ltd.

He was a Vice Chairman of the Financial Houses Association and has twice served as the Chairman of the Leasing Association of Sri Lanka. He was also a committee member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, a former Director of the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka and a Council Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Credit Management.

He received his MBA- Banking & Finance from the Post Graduate Institute of Management (PIM), and a BSC-Business Administration (Special) Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He also holds a Postgraduate Level Diploma in Modern Commercial Banking from PIM and is a Member of the Certified Management Accountants (Australia).