Priyantha Wijesekera to usher in new era for Softlogic Finance PLC
Softlogic Finance PLC appointed Mr. Priyantha Wijesekera as its new Chief Executive Officer, recently. Mr Wijesekera previously held the position of Executive Vice President – Leasing at Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB).
With over 20 years of exposure to the Banking and Financial Services industry, Mr. Wijesekera brings with him, extensive experience in the leasing, factoring, insurance, collections, recoveries and litigation spheres. An Attorney-at-law and a Solicitor by profession with exposure to commercial arbitration and shipping law, Mr. Wijesekera entered the industry through the Merchant Bank Group and later joined City National Investment Bank as its Head of Legal and Compliance. In 2001, he moved to Mercantile Leasing, as its Head of Legal and Human Resources and as a result of a series of mergers and acquisitions, became a part of NTB and the John Keells Group.
In addition to his involvement in the corporate machinery, Mr. Wijesekera was also a part of the JKH CSR Foundation, working towards providing healthcare awareness, such as HIV awareness programs to stakeholders both internal and external, and free Mobile Vision Clinics for those in need in our society. An outstanding badminton player at his alma mater, St. Thomas’ College, Mr. Wijesekera reached the pinnacle of his sport as the Sri Lankan National Champion and as an Olympian.
A proven trailblazer in the leasing industry, he has been instrumental in introducing and driving several game changing leasing products like ‘Green Leasing’, the first of its kind initiative to promote clean driving with hybrid automobiles and more recently with the ‘On-site Leasing’ facility, an end to end lease process conducted at the vehicle sales center, thus reducing the physical and logistical efforts on the part of the buyer, the seller and the financing partner. In demonstrating his sustained commitment to driving productivity and fostering internal efficiencies, Mr. Wijesekera was also the architect behind the development of an integrated end-to-end collection and recovery vertical that streamlined and increased focus on maintaining collection efficiency across all lending assets. Further, whilst holding a number of key management positions at NTB, he has been at the forefront of driving technological innovations and introducing digital financial tools to the leasing industry.
With Mr. Wijesekera at the helm, Softlogic Finance PLC is well set to usher in a new era in its journey towards becoming a digital financial services provider by forging ahead with a groundbreaking cocktail of digitized product offerings that deliver unparalleled value to our customers.
Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Mr. Wijesekera said, “At Softlogic Finance, we believe that change is good and therefore we will strive to streamline our systems and processes in a digital backdrop and move closer to a paperless future where we can deliver a distinctive, digitized and easily accessible value proposition to our customers. Our key focus, in new customer acquisition, would be the future leaders of our country; the youth, who are already equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to make effective decisions. We envision being easily accessible to them and becoming their preferred partner throughout their financial journey.”
Softlogic Finance PLC is a registered finance company with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011, as well as a Specialized Leasing Company licenced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka under the Finance Leasing Act No. 56 of 2000.
