The ABA has two new Vice Chairmen in the persons of Mr. Mohamed Shareef, CEO of Bank of Maldives, and Mr. Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director and CEO of Hatton National Bank. Mr. Shareef and Mr. Pallewatte were elected to the position by the newly-elected Board Members during the 65th ABA Board of Directors’ Meeting held on 16 September 2025 in Bhutan in conjunction with the 41st ABA General Meeting and Conference.
The two new Vice Chairmen were elected on the basis of their active participation in ABA activities in the past years and therefore reflect their Bank’s strong commitment to the Association, and whose credentials and work experience indicate a high level of expertise and leadership in the field of banking.
Mr. Shareef was named to his current position at Bank of Maldives in 2024. He has over 25 years of experience at the Bank, including over seven ye ars in executive management. He played a key role in modernizing the bank and his leadership contributed to significant improvements in financial performance, service delivery, and digital transformation.
Mr. Shareef holds an MBA from the University of Manchester, a program designed specifically for financial specialists and managers, and completed the Senior Executive Programme at London Business School, tailored for CEOs and senior executives worldwide.
Mr. Pallewatte is a distinguished banking and risk management professional with 30 years of experience in the banking industry. Over the course of his career, he has held several key leadership roles at HNB, including Acting CEO, Deputy General Manager – Wholesale Banking Group, Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Chief Information Security Officer. Before joining HNB, he served as the CRO of Nations Trust Bank PLC.
Mr. Pallewatte holds an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and a BSc (Hons) in Management from the London School of Economics, University of London.
The election of a second Vice Chairman was earlier decided by the Board during its meeting in Taipei in November 2024 to further help the Chairman undertake his important role of leading the Association towards achieving its objectives of promoting the interest of members.
