Sunil Mendis is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n corporate executive. He was the eleventh

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Central Bank of Sri Lanka The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ( CBSL; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහ බැංකුව, Sri Lanka Maha Bankuwa) is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950 under the Monetary Law Act No.58 of 1949 (MLA), it is a ...

and a former chairman of the Hayley's Group of Companies. Educated at the St. Servatius' College, Matara and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

, Sunil Mendis was a member of the Associaation of Chartered Certified Accountants. Joining

Hayleys Hayleys PLC, founded in 1878, is a multinational and diversified conglomerate company in Sri Lanka with business spanning over 16 sectors, catering to 70 markets worldwide. Hayleys accounts for approximately 4.2% of Sri Lanka's export income, a ...

, one of Sri Lanka's oldest and largest conglomerates, he went on to become its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer after having served there for 42 years. Prior to his appointment, he was a Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and was a Director of the

Bank of Ceylon Bank of Ceylon (BOC; Sinhala: ලංකා බැංකුව ''Lanka Bænkuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை வங்கி ''Ilangai Vangi'') is a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Its head office is located in an iconic cyli ...

for many years. His other positions include being a Director of the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Company, the United States Educational Foundation in Sri Lanka as well as being a Director of Export Development Board and the Board of Investment and on the Presidential Salaries Commission. After retiring as Chairman of Hayleys Mendis was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank on 1 July 2004. During the period 2004-2005, Mendis served as the Director of National Council for Economic Development at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) and served as the Chairman of the Sovereign Rating Committee for the Government of Sri Lanka. He was awarded the title of Deshamanya in 2005 by the Sri Lankan Government. During the same year, he also attended the opening of the

Hatton National Bank Hatton National Bank PLC (commonly abbreviated as HNB) is a private bank in Sri Lanka with 255 branches and 794 ATMs. The bank traces its origin to 1888 when Hatton Bank commenced its operations in Hatton, Sri Lanka. See also * List of banks in ...

's museum and decided to change interest rates despite last year's tsunami disaster. He has been on the board of over 100 state and private sector institutions in Sri Lanka as well as 7 companies internationally. He retired from the position of Governor on 30 June 2006, only two years into a six year term, following the election of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. Mendis then took on a role as a Director of Cargills PLC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendis, Sunil Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Sri Lankan chief executives Governors of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Sinhalese businesspeople Deshamanya Year of birth missing (living people)