Board of Directors

S. Chandra Das

Non-Executive Chairman and Independent Director

He is an Independent Director of our Company. He was appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman on 5th June 2012. He has over 40 years of experience primarily in companies involved in the trading and manufacturing industries.

At present, he is the Managing Director of NUR Investment & Trading Pte. Ltd and Director of several other trading and manufacturing companies. He also sits as an Independent Director on the Board of Ascott Residence Trust Management Limited, Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd and TalkMed Group Ltd. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Super Group Ltd.

He is currently serving as Singapore's Non-Resident Ambassador to Turkey, the Pro-Chancellor of Nanyang Technology University in Singapore and a Life Trustee of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA).

He has been simultaneously involved in the corporate sector and in public and community services for over four decades, holding several high profile appointments. He was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1996. His efforts across various fields have earned significant recognition through several awards and citations. These include the Distinguished Service (Star) Award by National Trades Union Congress ("NTUC") in 2005, the Distinguished Service Award by NTUC in 2001, the President's Medal by the Singapore Australian Business Council in 2000, the Rochdale Medal by the Singapore National Co-operative Federation Limited in 1998, the Meritorious Service Award by NTUC in 1997, the Golden Cross of Merit of Poland in 1991 and the Friend of Labour Award by NTUC in 1979.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics (Honours) from the University of Singapore (now known as National University of Singapore) and holds a Certificate in Education conferred by the former Singapore Teachers' Training College. He has been conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business by the University of Newcastle, Australia and an Honorary Doctorate in Commercial Science by St. John's University, New York.

Hariharan Selvanathan

Deputy Chairman and Executive Director

He is the Deputy Chairman and Executive Director of our Company. He was appointed on 28th May 2012 and is responsible for the strategic direction of our business operations. He has over 20 years of experience in commodity trading in the international markets.

Presently, he is a Director on the Boards of Carson Cumberbatch PLC (CCPLC), Bukit Darah PLC (BDPLC) and several of their subsidiary companies. He is currently the Chairman of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) Ltd.

At present, he holds concurrent appointments as the Vice Chairman of Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, Vice Chairman of Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC, Deputy Chairman of CCPLC and Chairman of BDPLC. He has also been a Director of Sri Krishna Corporation Ltd.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Madras, India. 

Chandana Tissera

Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

He was appointed as an Executive Director of our Company on 16th January 2008 and has held the position of Group Chief Executive Officer of our Group since 2008. He is responsible for spearheading our growth and formulating our overall business strategies and policies, as well as overlooking the implementation of our business plans at the operational level. He has over 30 years of experience in the fields of manufacturing, financial services, capital market operations, palm plantations, project development and management services.

Presently, he is also a Director on the Board of Carson Cumberbatch PLC (CCPLC) and several other subsidiary companies of CCPLC. 

He holds a Licentiate Certificate conferred by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He is also a Fellow Member of the Institute of Management, UK and a Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) of Sri Lanka.

Jayaprakash Mathavan

Chief Operating Officer (Edible Oils & Fats Segment) and Executive Director

He was appointed as an Executive Director of our Company on 16th January 2008 and has held the position of Chief Operating Officer of our edible oils and fats business segment since September 2011. He is responsible for overseeing the entire operations of our edible oils and fats business segment and for developing operational level strategic plans and policies in alignment with our Group's strategic direction. He has developed his expertise in business operations based on approximately 25 years of work experience and knowledge gained in the fields of auditing, manufacturing, palm plantations and trading.

He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Commerce (B.Com) with First Class Honours from Bharathidasan University, India. He is an Associate Member of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a Fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK, and a Member of The Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Don Chandima Gunawardena

Non-Executive Director

He was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of our Company on 7th June 2012. Presently, he is also a Non-Executive Director of Bukit Darah PLC (BDPLC) and Carson Cumberbatch PLC (CCPLC) and sits on the Boards of several Subsidiaries and other subsidiary companies of CCPLC and BDPLC. He has over four decades of experience in varied fields of business and commercial activities and has held senior positions in the corporate sector.

He also has worked in and held Directorships in many other leading companies in the mercantile sector..

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountant, UK.

Abdullah Bin Tarmugi

Independent Director

He is an Independent Director of our Company. He was appointed on 7th June 2012. 

At present, he also serves an as Independent Director on the Board of  Guocoland Limited, and The Islamic Bank of Asia Ltd, a subsidiary of DBS Bank Ltd and Pacific Insurance Berhad. He is currently a member on the Board of Trustees of National University of Singapore. He is also an Independent Director of the Tsao Foundation.

He is presently a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights and was the Speaker of Parliament from 2002 to 2011.  He has held various high profile ministerial positions in the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Community and Development and Sports.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) Degree from the University of Singapore (now known as National University of Singapore). He also holds a post-graduate Diploma in Urban Studies (Developing Countries) (with Merit) conferred by the University College, University of London under the Commonwealth Scholarship.

C. T. J. Chan

Independent Director

He was appointed as an Independent Director of our Company on 7th June 2012.

Presently, he is also an Independent Director, the Chairman of the remuneration committee and a member of the audit committee of Ho Bee Land Ltd., and an Independent Director, a member of the audit committee and the Non-Executive Chairman of AXA Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd. He also served as an Independent Director, the Chairman of the remuneration committee and a member of the audit committee and nominating committee of Pacific Healthcare Holdings Ltd. He has over 40 years of finance and accounting experience.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales and a Fellow of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.