Heminda Jayaweera is a recipient of prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship. He is currently Executive Director of TRACE Sri Lanka
Heminda has obtained BSc in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering and MBA in Management of Technology from the University of Moratuwa. He has worked over a decade in Axiata Group, specialising in new product and innovation management. He has product innovation consulting experience in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Cambodia. He is a seasoned corporate trainer on Design Thinking and Prototyping.
Heminda, as the Senior Fellow in Innovation and Entrepreneurship of University of Moratuwa, started Mora-Ventures startup incubator. During his tenure, it launched 30 start-ups within 2 years. He was also the COO of SLINTEC, the pioneer nano-tech and advanced research facility in Sri Lanka.
Heminda co-founded Jendo, a med-tech start-up which has patents in US and Japan for a non-invasive medical device to identify cardiovascular diseases. He also co-founded Thuru, a green-tech initiative. He cofounded 3H Innovations to value-add Sri Lankan endemic plant-based extracts to develop superfoods and nutraceuticals. He is also a director of Effective Solutions, an IoT Company.
Heminda is a Council Member at National Innovation Agency and also an advisor to ICTA on Startup Ecosystem Development.
Denver De Zylva is a global sustainability leader and board-level advisor, driving Virtusa’s sustainability strategy across 60 locations in 30 countries. He pioneered Sustainability 2.0: Moving Beyond Reporting to Real-Time Decisions, leveraging Agentic AI to enable transparency, circularity, and impact intelligence across value chains. Denver complements this with his 7Ps strategy — building Private-Public Partnerships with a Purpose and Passion for People and Planet — creating a collaborative, technology-enabled model for climate action and resilience.
His leadership uniquely blends operational discipline, sustainability vision, and a deep commitment to global impact. Under his leadership, Virtusa has achieved global recognition, including a CDP Leadership score of A- for three consecutive years (top 13% globally), EcoVadis Gold (top 5% worldwide; 96th percentile), and SBTi-validated Net Zero targets across Scopes 1, 2 & 3. He also serves on the Boards of SLASSCOM and the UN Global Compact Network Sri Lanka, championing Sri Lanka’s positioning as a Green IT-BPM hub and a leader in sustainable innovation.
Mr. Lakshman Abeysekara has been appointed as the new Chairman and Director General of the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA).
Mr. Lakshman Abeysekara has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Enterprise Development Authority, functioning under the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development. He is a distinguished Senior Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of experience spanning both the public and private sectors. He is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, AAT Sri Lanka, and CMA Sri Lanka. Additionally, he holds an MBA from the Institute of Postgraduate Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
With extensive expertise in Corporate Governance, Strategic Planning and Implementation, Finance, Enterprise Development and Business Management, he has held prominent positions in public institutions, leading private enterprises and also has successfully established several thriving business ventures in Sri Lanka.
He has previously served as the Chairman of SDB Bank and the Rubber Research Board of Sri Lanka. Currently, he contributes as a Member of the Consultative Panel at the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, a Member of the Advisory Committee on Agriculture and Food Security at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Sri Lanka, and as a Director of Kapruka Holdings PLC and Kegalle Plantations PLC. He also serves as the Chairman of the CA Sri Lanka SME Task Force.
He has a long-standing commitment to MSME development and has volunteered extensively with the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) on initiatives such as the SMEConnect.lk platform, Brain-into-Business Program, Regional Development Programs, and various other projects.
Mr. A. Umamaheswaran is a senior Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) Special Grade officer currently serving as the Government Agent and District Secretary of Mullaitivu. With over two decades of experience in public administration, he has held key leadership positions at district, divisional, provincial, and ministerial levels. His professional expertise includes district administration, public sector reforms, quality management, disaster management, community development, and investment facilitation. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and is widely recognized for promoting productivity, good governance, and inclusive, result-oriented development initiatives.
Brief Profile – Shiham Marikar is the Secretary GeneralCEO of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka (NCE). With over 20 years’ experience, he drives growth, policy advocacy, and professionalization of Sri Lanka’s export sector. Holding an MBA from Cardiff Metropolitan University and FAAPM certification, he has worked as a consultant for ITC Geneva on trade-related matters. He represents various steering committees, collaborating with both state and private sectors on export initiatives, and leads programs supporting exporters. Committed to sustainability, innovation, and global competitiveness, he empowers exporters while shaping export-friendly policies and sectoral development.
Raguram Raamakrishnan is a seasoned finance professional with over 14 years of experience in Sri Lanka’s capital and financial markets, spanning Corporate Finance, Valuation, M&A Advisory, Equity Research, Private Equity, Asset Management, and Commercial Banking. He is part of the Deal Advisory practice at KPMG Sri Lanka, where he has led valuation, feasibility, and transaction advisory engagements across sectors including Banking & Finance, IT, FinTech, Hospitality, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Manufacturing, supporting both domestic and cross-border transactions. Raguram has also contributed to policy and market-development initiatives, including regulatory benchmarking for Special Economic Zones and feasibility studies for offshore banking operations at Colombo Port City, along with economic advisory work on Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic outlook and recovery. Born in Jaffna, he brings a strong regional development perspective, having mentored Northern-region startups and advised founder-led businesses on capital structuring, growth strategies, and M&A, helping connect regional enterprises with institutional investors and strategic partners. As a moderator at the Northern Investor Summit 2026, Raguram combines technical expertise, policy insight, and regional understanding to facilitate focused, outcome-driven dialogue between investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.