Corporate Management Team

Ms. D.S.T. Jayawardena

Joint Deputy Chairperson / Joint Managing Director
Appointed in July 2014

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena marks several milestones for Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC as the youngest Board Member, and the first female member on the Board. Ms. Jayawardena was appointed as Joint Deputy Chairperson and Joint Managing Director, Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings in September 2023 and she also heads the Tourism sector of Aitken Spence PLC inclusive of hotels, destination management and overseas travel.

With a career spanning over 10 years at Aitken Spence, she wields a fresh perspective in management and leads strategic business units across the Group. She leads several key strategic teams as the Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd., as a member on the Board of Directors of, Stassen Group, Lanka Milk Foods (CWE) PLC, Aitken Spence Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, Western Power Company (Pvt) Ltd., She was appointed to the Board of Directors of Melstacorp PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka in September 2022.

She is graduate of St. James’ & Lucie Clayton College and Keele University in the United Kingdom, Emeritus Institute of Management, Singapore – and an Associate Alumni of University of Cambridge (Judge Business School), United Kingdom. Ms. Jayawardena was the youngest intern to work under US Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton and the Former US President Bill Clinton in 2003; and was appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador for EY NextGen Club from 2017 to 2019.

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena was appointed to the Executive Board of The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and represents THASL at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Committee since 2019. She is an Executive Committee Member at the International Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka since 2020 and a Steering Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Tourism. She was appointed as Chairperson of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Hotels and Tourism Employers Group for the financial year 2020/21. Ms. Jayawardena is also a member of the PWC NextGen Advisory Board.

Ms. Jayawardena represents the Company as the Ambassador from Aitken Spence PLC at the Target Gender Equality initiative of the UN Global Compact since 2020. She is also a member of the Austrian Business Circle in Sri Lanka.

In recognition of her work and commitment to inspire, she was recognised at the Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards in Sri Lanka with a Gold award in the Hotel & Hospitality Sector in 2017. In 2020, she was listed by Sri Lankan business magazine, Echelon, among the most innovative and influential young leaders who have succeeded in business and are shaping the future of Sri Lanka.

Ms. Jayawardena became the award recipient of the Expatriate Contribution Award – Gold category by Women in Management Maldives. The Professional and Career Women Awards Maldives 2022 presented this award to Ms. Jayawardena for her exceptional contributions and achievements in the field of Hotel & Hospitality.

Her passion remains in designing the next generation of business with the core values of integrity, sustainability, empowerment, and equal opportunities. She believes in driving her business decisions by using data and technology.

Mr. C.M.S. Jayawickrama

Executive Director
Appointed in April 2005

Mr. Susith Jayawickrama has had a career spanning over three decades with Aitken Spence and is the Joint Managing Director of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited, which manages all hotels of the Group.

Mr. Jayawickrama serves on the Aitken Spence Group Management Council and on the Boards of most hotel companies in the Group including that of Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK. He has more than three decades of experience in senior management positions in the Group’s hotel sector and the tourism industry in Sri Lanka and overseas.

Mr. Jayawickrama is a past Vice President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL).

Mr. S.N. De Silva
Mr. Srinith De Silva is the Chief Executive Officer / Vice President of Aitken Spence Hotels Oman Sector. He is a Graduate of Victoria University, Melbourne, and counts many years of experience in international hotel chains such as Raffles Singapore, Sheraton, and Stamford Hotels and Resorts. He has over 28 years of experience in the hospitality industry in senior managerial positions handling operations and marketing in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, and Sri Lanka.

Mr. M.D.B.J. Gunathilake

Mr. Badhiya Gunatilake is the Chief Operating Officer / Vice President of Aitken Spence Hotels Maldives Sector, operating Heritance Aarah and the Adaaran Resorts. He also serves as a Director of Unique Resorts Private Ltd.

He is a Graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School and a professional hotelier with over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including senior managerial positions handling hotel operations in Sri Lanka, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Maldives.

Mr. D.J. De Crusz

Mr. Darell De Crusz has had a career spanning over three decades with Aitken Spence, joining Aitken Spence Travels Limited initially in 1989, thereafter transferring to set up Ace Travels & Conventions in 1993. He continued his career at Aitken Spence Travels Limited till 2018 and re-joined the Company in 2019 as the Vice President – Sales & Marketing for Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited. With over 34 years of experience in the tourism sector, he possesses a wide knowledge of the travel and hotel industry.

Mr. De Crusz holds an MBA from the Open University of Sri Lanka, an MA in International Relations from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Ms. D.R. Alexander

Ms. Dinali Alexander is the Vice President of Supply Chain for operations in Sri Lanka, the Republic of Maldives, India, and the Sultanate of Oman, corporate merchandising, and exports operations. She serves as a Director of Aitken Spence Hotels Ltd and Hethersett Hotels Limited. Ms. Alexander counts over 20 years of management experience covering procurement, administration, human resources, and sustainability across multiple industries.

Mr. P.G.S. Pereira

Mr. Patrick Pereira serves as the Vice President of Learning & Development and Rooms Division at Aitken Spence Hotels. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all organizational development initiatives and providing strategic leadership for the Rooms Division function across all hotels and management offices in Sri Lanka, India, Oman, and Maldives. Mr. Pereira holds an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK and is a graduate of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management. With over 20 years of senior leadership experience in hotel operations, talent development, organizational development, strategic management, and brand deployment, he brings a wealth of expertise to his current position. Mr. Pereira is the President of Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association and a Management Board member of Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management.

Mr. R. Kohler

Mr. Ralf Kohler joined Aitken Spence Hotels in July 2023 as the Corporate Food and Beverage Director, bringing with him over two decades of international food and beverage and hospitality experience from across Europe, Middle East, South-East Asia, and South Asia.

Mr. Kohler has previously held high-profile roles in F&B Management in global chains such as the Shangri-La Group, Starwood Hotels, and Steigenberger Hotels, as well as in privately managed luxury hotels.

He has a degree in Hospitality Management from the Hospitality Management School, Munich, Germany, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Edinburgh Napier University, UK.

Mr. M. Mahdy

Mr. Mohamed Mahdy serves as the Assistant Vice President Administration in the Maldives Sector of Aitken Spence Hotels. Mr. Mahdy began his career with Aitken Spence in 1993 at Bathala Island Resort, Maldives, and has since held various senior positions in resorts in the Maldives and at the corporate office in Male’. He holds a Bachelor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in Hospitality Management from Birmingham University, UK, and an MBA from the Open University of Malaysia.

Mr. S. Dissanayake

Mr. Suresh Dissanayake brings 19 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and India. As the Assistant Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Maldives sector, he has been instrumental in driving the sales and marketing strategies for numerous pre-opening projects, including Heritance Aarah. His career includes a significant tenure heading sales and marketing efforts in India from 2009 to 2013. After a brief period in Sri Lanka, he assumed leadership of the sales initiatives for Aitken Spence Hotels in the Maldives. Mr. Dissanayake holds an MBA from Buckinghamshire New University, UK, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Open University of Sri Lanka. He is also a postgraduate of The Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia. His professional excellence has been recognized with several prestigious awards. In 2018, he was honored as the Most Influential Sales and Marketing Professional in the Maldives. Most recently, he was awarded the title of Sales Personality of the Year at the Hotelier Maldives Awards 2024.

Mr. D. Kumarasinghe

Mr. Dimuthu Kumarasinghe has been with the Company for over 23 years and is the Assistant Vice President for Food & Beverage of Aitken Spence Hotels in Sri Lanka, India, the Republic of Maldives, and the Sultanate of Oman. He is a world record holder at the Culinary World Olympic Championship held in 2004 and the Culinary World Cup held in 2006. He secured 29 Gold, 5 Silver, and 12 Bronze medals for Sri Lanka through International Culinary Competitions.

Mr. Kumarasinghe holds the title of President – Chefs Guild of Sri Lanka from 2012 to 2023 and has led more than 77 participants to secure 68 Gold medals along with many Silver and Bronze medals at the Culinary Olympics and World Cup.

Mr. Kumarasinghe is a jury member for the World Culinary Competitions and a recipient of the Presidential Award in 2007, 2017, and 2018 for outstanding culinary contribution. He holds honorary distinctions including Honorary Life Member and Head Coach of the Golden Horseshoe Culinary Team Canada, Vatel Club Luxembourg, South Indian Culinary Association, Saudi Arabian Chefs Association, Turkey Chefs Association, Emirates Culinary Guild, and Ukraine Culinary Union.

Mrs. N.M. Pelpola

Mrs. Namalee Pelpola is the Assistant Vice President Corporate Affairs & Compliance of Aitken Spence Hotels. She joined the Company Secretarial division of Aitken Spence Corporate Finance (Private) Limited in 2003 and has handled the company secretarial function and corporate compliance for the companies in the Hotels, Travels, and Shipping sectors within the Aitken Spence Group. In 2008, she transferred to Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Private) Limited, overseeing the HR and Legal functions for all the hotels in the Group. Mrs. Pelpola is an Attorney-at-Law by profession and a Graduate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (UK), with experience in Property Acquisitions and Sales, Joint Ventures and Shareholder Agreements, Human Resource Functions, and Company Secretarial Practice.

Mr. C. Athapattu

Mr. Chula Athapattu is the Assistant Vice President of Engineering for Aitken Spence Hotel Managements with responsibilities in local and overseas properties of the Group. He has over two decades of experience in the hotels engineering sector.

Mr. Athapattu is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. He holds a B.Sc. Engineering Degree from the University of Peradeniya and an MBA in Infrastructure from the University of Moratuwa.

Mrs. L. Diaz

Mrs. Lucille Diaz is the Assistant Vice President for Branding and PR at Aitken Spence Hotels, drawing upon her extensive experience of over two decades in travel & hospitality, financial services, advertising, and publishing. She holds an MBA in Marketing with a specialization in Project Management from Cardiff Metropolitan University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, and has achieved the Passed Finalist status with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Additionally, Mrs. Diaz holds a Certificate in Design Thinking from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is a Certified Practitioner of Design Thinking, which she employs as a framework for creative problem-solving.

Mr. P.L. Wijerathne

Mr. Priyan Wijerathne is the Assistant Vice President Operations of the Sri Lanka Sector of Aitken Spence Hotels. He serves as a Director of Aitken Spence Hotels Ltd/Amethyst Leisure Limited/Hethersett Hotels Limited and Paradise Resort Passikudah (Private) Limited.
He is a Graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School, holds a Master of Business Administration offered by Cardiff Metropolitan University, and is a professional hotelier with over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, including senior managerial positions.

Ms. N. Mohamed

Ms. Nashitha Mohamed is the Assistant Vice President Finance for Overseas Hotels of Aitken Spence and is responsible for the finance operations in the Maldives, Oman, and India sectors. She joined the organization in 2008. Ms. Mohamed holds a Masters in Applied Finance from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), a Member of CPA Canada, a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) Sri Lanka, and a Fellow of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) of Sri Lanka.

Mr. R.J. Hassim

Mr. Ramish Hassim serves as Assistant Vice President – Culinary Operations for the Sri Lankan Sector of Aitken Spence Hotels Managements Pvt Ltd and oversees the culinary operations in Sri Lanka. He has been with Aitken Spence for nearly 25 years and has made significant contributions to the culinary sector of Aitken Spence Hotels.

Mr. Hassim graduated from the Ceylon Hotel School in 1996, specializing in Professional Cookery, and completed his industrial training at the Colombo Hilton. His experience includes a stint at the Dubai Intercontinental, following which he joined Heritance Kandalama in 1999 as a Junior Sous Chef and progressed within the Group.

He has traveled to many countries for skills training and has participated in Sri Lankan food festivals. Mr. Hassim has also won awards and accolades for Aitken Spence Hotels at Culinary World Cup competitions.

Mr. S.M.A.L. Gunasekare

Mr. Lalith Gunasekera, a graduate of the Ceylon Hotel School Graduate Association, is the Assistant Vice President for Culinary Operations of Aitken Spence Hotels in the Maldives. He has been with the Company for over 30 years and led the Heritance Aarah team in 2019 to win the Best Hotel Culinary Team awards in Sri Lanka & Maldives, held by the Chef’s Guild of Sri Lanka. In 2020, he was a Gold Medal winner at the Culinary Olympics held in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2022, he provided leadership to the Adaaran Prestige Vadoo team to win the Best Hotel Culinary Team award in Maldives by FHAM.

Mr. K.A. Kodippilige

Mr. Krishan Kodippilige, a graduate of the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management, joined Aitken Spence Hotels in January 2024 as the General Manager/Director of Turyaa Chennai. He has extensive experience in both the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh leisure markets and was honored with the Best Emerging General Manager’s Award by the International GM Awards, Bangladesh in 2023.

Currently, Mr. Kodippilige serves as the Director of International Affairs and is an Executive Committee Member at the World Association of Master Chefs – Sri Lankan Chapter. He has also been recognized as an International Culinary Judge by both the World Association of Master Chefs and the Royal Bengal Master Chef Association.