Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena marks several milestones for Aitken Spence PLC and Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC as the youngest Board Member, and the first female member on the Board. Ms. Jayawardena heads the Tourism sector of Aitken Spence PLC inclusive of hotels, destination management and overseas travel.

With a career spanning over 10 years at Aitken Spence, she wields a fresh perspective in management and leads strategic business units across the Group. She leads several key strategic teams as the Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotel Managements (Pvt) Ltd., as a member on the Board of Directors of Aitken Spence PLC, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings PLC, Stassen Group, Lanka Milk Foods (CWE) PLC, Aitken Spence Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, Western Power Company (Pvt) Ltd., She was appointed to the Board of Directors of Melstacorp PLC and Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka in September 2022.

A graduate of St. James’ & Lucie Clayton College and Keele University in the United Kingdom, and Emeritus Institute of Management, Singapore – Ms. Jayawardena made waves from a young age. Ms. Jayawardena was the youngest intern to work under US Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton and the Former US President Bill Clinton in 2003; and was appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador for EY NextGen Club from 2017 to 2019.

Ms. Stasshani Jayawardena was appointed to the Executive Board of The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and represents THASL at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Committee since 2019. She is an Executive Committee Member at the International Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka since 2020 and a Steering Committee Member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Tourism. She was appointed as Chairperson of the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) Hotels and Tourism Employers Group for the financial year 2020/21. Ms. Jayawardena is also a member of the PWC NextGen Advisory Board.

Ms. Jayawardena represents the Company as the Ambassador from Aitken Spence PLC at the Target Gender Equality initiative of the UN Global Compact since 2020. She is also a member of the Austrian Business Circle in Sri Lanka.

In recognition of her work and commitment to inspire, she was recognized at Top 50 Professional & Career Women Awards in Sri Lanka with a Gold award in the Hotel & Hospitality Sector in 2017, and in 2020 by Sri Lankan business magazine, Echelon, listing her among the most innovative and influential young leaders who have succeeded in business and shaping the future of Sri Lanka.

Ms. Jayawardena became the award recipient of the Expatriate Contribution Award – Gold category by Women in Management Maldives. The Professional and Career Women Awards Maldives 2022 presented this award to Ms. Jayawardena for her exceptional contributions and achievements in the field of Hotel & Hospitality.

Her passion remains in designing the next generation of business with the core values of integrity, sustainability, empowerment, and equal opportunities. She believes driving her business decisions by using data and technology.