Mahendra Jayasekera

Panduka Mahendra Jayasekera (born on 16th October 1966), is a Sri Lankan business professional. At present, he is the Managing Director of Lanka Walltiles PLC, Lanka Tiles PLC, Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC, Swisstek Aluminium Ltd., and Lanka Ceramic PLC.

Early life
Mahendra Jayasekera was born in Narangodapaluwa, in the district of Gampaha, Sri Lanka. He grew up in a family with two siblings.

Education
Mahendra Jayasekera received his early education at Carey College, Colombo 08. He later pursued his primary education at the same school before moving to De Mazenod College, Kandana to pursue higher studies. He was actively engaged in cricket, soccer and volleyball, during his school times. He enrolled at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura and completed an Honours Degree in Business Administration. In addition, he also holds a Diploma in Buddhist Studies and a master's degree in Buddhist Studies, both from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Career
After completing his education, Mahendra started a job into the fields of accountancy and corporate leadership. He is also a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Later on, he started his career as an article clerk at KPMG. In August 1993, after receiving audit and management consultancy training at KPMG Fakhro, Bahrain, he transitioned to C.T. Smith Stockbrokers Pvt. Ltd. as the head of research. In this role, he played a role in establishing the company's research department and also served as the compliance officer, responsible for drafting a comprehensive compliance program to meet the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and Merrill Lynch International Ltd. In 1997, he joined Lanka Tiles PLC as Director/Chief Executive Officer, subsequently rising to the position of Managing Director of Lanka Walltiles PLC, Lanka Tiles PLC, Swisstek (Ceylon) PLC, Swisstek Aluminium Ltd. and Lanka Ceramic PLC.

Apart from being the leader of business in the Lanka Walltiles Group, he holds many important positions in foreign and local settings: Director of HNB Assurance PLC, Uni Dil Packaging Limited and Uni Dil Packaging Solutions Limited, President at The Sri Lanka Ceramics & Glass Council in 2015, Chairman of CMA Sri Lanka Cost and Management Accounting Standards Board, former committee member - Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, former committee member - Committee of the Sri Lanka-Italy Business Council.

Other activities
Mahendra has been actively involved in social initiatives, particularly through his engagement with the Colombo YMBA. He served as the secretary and currently as the President of the Colombo YMBA. He is an active participant and spokesperson for One Sri Lanka Dialogue by Colombo YMBA. He is also a member of the Economic Council of the De La Salle Brothers – Sri Lanka Chapter, where he works closely with Catholic communities through many projects that the chapter organizes.

In addition, he initiated CSR developments in Lanka Walltiles Group, like the Smart Classroom Project, where LANKATILES has built a smart classroom for the students of the Matara Dodampahala Maha Vidyalaya.

Politics
Mahendra has been involved in political advocacy efforts, advocating for good governance, rule of law, and ethical leadership.