Dilith Jayaweerais a, Sri Lankan corporate leader and a prominent figure in the country's advertising industry. In 2011, he was named by the LMD Magazine as one of the ten ‘Business People of the Year’.. In 2020, Dilith Jayaweera was among 100 corporate leaders named by the LMD on its A-list of businesspeople who continue to drive the engine of growth in Sri Lanka. He is the Chairman of George Steuart & Co., Sri Lanka's oldest mercantile establishment and Derana, one of the largest media networks in Sri Lanka.
Career
A lawyer by profession, Dilith Jayaweera set up Triad Advertising Limited in 1993, in partnership with Varuni Amunugama, whom he had met at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. Triad is the most awarded indigenous advertising agency in Sri Lanka. Jayaweera's agency is known to have been behind several high-profile campaigns including ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ created on behalf of the Sri Lanka forces to raise the profile of the army, navy and air force during the latter stages of the Sri Lankan civil war against the LTTE. The company has been heavily diversified and Jayaweera has set up over 20 subsidiaries. His media investments include a national television channel Derana and Liberty Publishers, which publishes two national newspapers - the Sinhala languageAruna and English languageThe Morning. With the aim of building a modern conglomerate, Jayaweera entered industries such as travel and leisure, pharmaceuticals, property and manufacturing where he has established a strong presence through the George Steuart Group of companies.
Post-war investments
In the post-war Sri Lankan economy, Jayaweera has risen to prominence as an aggressive investor – his investment arm Divasa Equity is a majority shareholderin publiclisted companies such as Citrus Leisure PLC and Colombo Land and Development PLC, and in October 2011 took over the 176-year-old George Steuart Group, Sri Lanka's oldest mercantile establishment and a successful diversified conglomerate. He sits on the Boards of several companies including Citrus Leisure PLC, Colombo Land PLC, and Triad Ltd, and is Chairman of the George Steuart Group of Companies.
Controversy
The District Judge of Colombo in 2011 issued an enjoining order against Telshan Network of Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s brother Shan Wickremesinghe and one of his directors preventing them from defaming Dilith Jayaweera on a local radio channel Isira Radio. Order was given consequent to action filed by Dilith Jayaweera against Shan Wickremesinghe and his co-host for defamatory comments made on a radio show. Jayaweera also sent the BBC Sinhala service a letter of demand for defamation for carrying a story on the subject.
Personal life
Dilith Jayaweera has been linked to Dinesh Palipana, Queensland's first quadriplegic intern. Palipana has credited Jayaweera with helping him progress through the accident that left him a quadriplegic.
