A Brief Profile of Our 59th President
Rtn.PHF.Pravir Samarasinghe
President 2019/20
Rotary Club of Colombo West
Our 59th President of the Rotary Club of Colombo West was introduced to the Rotary Club by his late uncle Rtn.Chula Samarasinghe in 1997 and due to exergencies at work he left the Club and subsequently rejoined the Club on 27th March 2013. He has been an active member serving as Director Community Service and International Service and was awarded the Project of the Year in 2016.
Pravir is currently the Director/ Group Chief Executive Officer of Overseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC a leading property company listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange. Prior to which he was the Group Director/Chief Operating Officer of Richard Pieris Co. PLC a diversified conglomerate. He is conversant with all aspects of corporate management and serves on the Board of Directors of several public listed and unlisted corporates.
Pravir has held many leadership positions in business and professional associations including Chairman Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, Board Member Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Past Chairman Sri Lanka Institute of Directors Industrial Association of Sri Lanka, EFC Affiliated Associations Group, Condominium Developers Association of Sri Lanka, and was the Past President CIMA Sri Lanka Division & former Council Member CIMA (UK).
Pravir is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. He was awarded a number of prizes at examinations conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the Stanley Berger Jubilee prize for the best paper in Strategic Management Accounting – Control & Audit at the final stage of CIMA 1989. He authored the book “Impelling & Impeding Causes and the Creation of a Debt Securities Market in Sri Lanka” jointly published by CIMA & PIM.
Pravir grew up in Colombo and attended Royal College, and excelled both in academics and sports. He was an active sportsman in school & club level, bagging Royal College colours in swimming & rowing and was a senior school prefect and the Vice-Captain of the rowing team. He represented the College at the Hong Kong National Rowing Championships and won the Venable Pairs Trophy representing the Colombo Rowing Club at the Amateur Rowing Association of the East Regatta. He maintains his passion for sport by being an active Crossfit enthusiast.
Pravir is married to Chulo who is the Managing Director of Swadeshi Industrial Works PLC, and has one daughter Medhira, who is presently an undergraduate student at Durham University, United Kingdom and is following a degree in Business & Management.
