Reminiscences

Benchmarks of a corporate icon

The Daily News Reminiscences, kicks off with one of Sri Lanka’s most legendary corporate icons- former Chairman of blue chip Aitken Spence Charitha Prasanna De Silva who transformed it from a departmental outfit whose business lines were until then limited to shipping, insurance, plantations and printing to the listed corporate conglomerate today.

Ravi Ladduwahetty

He also was a former Chairman of blue chips Lanka Orix Leasing , Union Assurance, and former Chairman of the umbrella private sector lobby Group the Chamber of Commerce and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also was a former Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon.

It was after the oil companies were taken over that de Silva declined an offer from Caltex to give him employment overseas, and joined Aitken Spence in 1963 as its Chief Accountant. By an extraordinary combination of circumstances he became Chairman and Managing Director in 1972 within nine years of joining.

He served in this capacity for almost twenty years, the longest time, by far, that anyone had been Chairman.

During those twenty years he oversaw the conversion of a traditional Agency House engaged in Shipping, Insurance and Estate Management to a conglomerate.

The transformation was so stunning that he was invited by “Asian Business” on whose cover he appeared in 1982 to deliver a lecture in Hongkong on how he achieved it. The event was cancelled when business magnate Upali Wijewardene who had also been invited to speak there went down in his private jet.

In 1982, ten years after he had been made Chairman, De Silva did something unique. He and his board had decided to go public. On the advice of his accountants the assets were revalued and it was decided to capitalise the reserves and declare a 3 for 1 Bonus Issue.

De Silva was able to persuade the three major shareholders among the six member board to voluntarily transfer one tenth of their shares to the three junior directors at par! This was an unparalleled act of generosity - the very opposite of Insider Dealing by which directors are sometimes known to enrich themselves.

He enjoyed a distinguished academic career culminating in the winning of three Form Prizes in his last three years at Royal College.

Before that he had obtained five distinctions in the Senior School Certificate Examination, the largest number of distinctions won by a student of Royal College that year. By a curious coincidence a similar number of distinctions was won at S. Thomas’ that year by the brilliant D.B.I.P.S.Siriwardena who went on to join the Ceylon Civil Service and become a respected friend.

While at Royal, de Silva won his tennis colours, captained table tennis and was the chess champion.

At the University too he won his tennis colours, a number of trophies at table tennis and was the chess champion. He was in the highest class in chess (he lost in the finals of an open tournament, to an Englishman in the early 1960s) and was also chosen to represent Sri Lanka in Contract Bridge in the 1970’s.

He read for an honours degree in Chemistry at the University but as a result of devoting most of his time to playing chess and contract bridge got a Second Class in his final exam.

He said that this setback was a blessing in disguise because instead of going into the academic field like his elder brother C.L.de Silva (who won the Annual Chemistry Scholarship to England and became a lecturer) he made a radical career change and went into accountancy.

He passed out as a Chartered Accountant and joined Caltex Ceylon Ltd as an accountant. He rose rapidly to Deputy Chief Accountant, and had the extraordinary experience of writing two centre page articles in the Ceylon Daily News that made the government re-consider a policy decision it had made. Government had decided to take-over the oil installation of Caltex in its programme to nationalise the oil industry.

De Silva was asked by his Managing Director, Harry Bernard, to write an article pointing out the dangers, to the country, of this move. He drafted an extremely strong article, that Bernard who was a cautious man wanted him to show Blamey of Shell before he got it published under his own name.

Blamey thought so highly of it that he wanted de Silva to walk across to Esso and show it to Mason, its head.

The three oil companies were friendly competitors who were now faced with mortal danger.

Mason was so delighted with the article that he insisted on de Silva writing another article on similar lines to be published under Mason’s name.

And so it came about that both articles appeared on a Wednesday, Cabinet day. Then Prime Minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, had read it that morning and stormed into Cabinet to ask T. B. Illangeratne (then Minister of Internal Trade and in charge of the Petroleum Corporation) whether he was trying to bring the Government down by the hasty expropriation of the Caltex Installation.

The take-over was cancelled for the nonce. This experience taught de Silva the value of fighting against an injustice, and the power of the written word - two lessons that were to guide his career.

While he was at Aitken Spence his qualities were recognised by his peers in the private sector and he was elected Chairman of both the Employers’ federation and The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

He has served on the Committee of the Chamber ever since the 70’s. Recently he was elected as an Honourary Member. He is presently the only living Honourary Member.

In 1978 Lalith Athulathmudali led an Investment Promotion Mission to Japan. De Silva went along as the Chairman of the Chamber. Athulathmudali established the very first bilateral Business Council, The Sri Lanka- Japan Business Co-operation Committee, and appointed De Silva as its first Chairman.

His Japanese counterpart was Ryuzo Sejima, head of the trading giant C.Itoh, a great war hero. During the next ten years joint meetings were held in the two countries and Sejima was so impressed by De Silva’s Co- chairmanship that he persuaded Emperor Hirohito, whose confidante he was, to award to De Silva, the highest Honour they had given any foreigner, The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star.

The magnitude of this award could be judged by the fact that two previous recipients of it were Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

In 1995 De Silva spoke at a meeting organised by the World Bank in Paris, and persuaded President Chandrika Kumaratunga to de-regulate the Telecommunication industry ignoring the objections of the Trade Unions (she had been hesitant to do it for fear of industrial unrest).

She thereafter appointed him the Chairman of the SEC. In 1998 she awarded him the Honour of Deshamanya.

In 1980 when he was on the board of the Bank of Ceylon, the IFC saw the need for equipment leasing in the country, and appointed him the Chairman of the first leasing company in the country, now known as LOLC. So it was under his leadership that two new financial industries, leasing and factoring, were established.

Having led an extremely exciting life, De Silva was happy to retire from Aitken Spence in 1991 and LOLC in 2003. He now leads a leisurely life, reading, listening to music and playing chess and bridge.

He attributes courage as the greatest virtue. There was no shortage of clever people, but what was lacking was people with the courage to stand up and be counted , he said.