Deshamanya Kandiah "Ken" Balendra (3 February 1940ஜோன் கீல்ஸ் குழும முதலாவது இலங்கைத் தலைவர் கென் பாலேந்திரா காலமானார் – 3 February 2025) was a Sri Lankan corporate leader and executive, who held many corporate positions in Sri Lanka and the region. He served as the first Sri Lankan chairman of John Keells Holdings Ltd., the largest conglomerate in the island.Desamanya Ken Balendra Executive Profile, Bloomberg Businessweek He was the chairman of Brandix Lanka Ltd. and the South Asia Regional Fund of the Commonwealth Development Corporation.
Biography Early life and education Born in 1940Gunawardena, Charles A., Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka, 2006 Edition, New Dawn Press Group into a well-to-do, Tamil family in Colombo, his father was a revenue inspector. He was educated at the Royal College, Colombo, where he excelled in sports. He participated in the Royalist team at the 1958 Bradby Shield Encounter, where Trinity was defeated to end their streak of six consecutive victories.Down Bradby Lane to 1958 , The Island Online, 11 June 2008 It was when he represented Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club, he was affectionately called as Ken from that point of time.
Career Balendra began his career in 1963 as a planter at Finlays, an independent tea and horticultural product trader. He joined John Keells Holdings in 1969 (then known as John Keell Thompson White Ltd) and following a successful stint as a tea broker, he was appointed a company director in 1974. From 1990 until his retirement from the company in 2000 he served as its chairman, the first Sri Lankan to hold the position, overseeing a period of rapid growth and diversification. It was during Ken's tenure that witnessed a massive turnaround as far as John Keells Holdings was concerned when it transformed into Sri Lanka's biggest conglomerate from being a colonial-era tea broking house.
He served as chairman of the Bank of Ceylon (2000–2002), the Ceylon Tobacco Company (2003–2008),The Island Business , The Island Online, 27 March 2008 the Securities and Exchange Commission (2000–2002),Past Commission Members, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (1998–2000). In April 200, Balendra was appointed the first president of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors.Annual Report 2011 , Sri Lanka Institute of Directors. He was a director at Chevron Lubricants Lanka until his resignation in 2011, having served over 10 years.Annual Report 2010, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC
In 2011 The Sunday Leader named Balendra as one of "The 20 Billionaires of Sri Lanka's Stock Market". He was featured in 11th place, with holdings said to be worth nearly 2.5 billion Rupees.Shauketaly, Faraz, "The 20 Billionaires of Sri Lanka's Stock Market", The Sunday Leader, 23 January 2011
Personal life and death Balendra married Swyrie, a doctor, in 1969.Samath, Feizal "It is now time to move on" , The Sunday Times, 9 July 2000 They had a daughter and a son named Natasha (Ex Chairperson of the National Child Protection Authority) and Krishan, who has served as the chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange since mid-2011."Krishan Balendra – New CSE Chairman" Children – Kimaya, Meha , Daily News, 15 June 2011 Krishan was educated at INSEAD in France and the University of London.
Kandiah Balendra died in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 3 February 2025, on his 85th birthday.
Honours and recognition Awarded the Sri Lankan national honour Deshamanya by President Chandrika Kumaratunga (1998). Appointed Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka Poland Bilateral Relations , Embassy of Sri Lanka, Poland Awarded The Cavaliers Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland (2007)."Poland honours Ken Balendra" , Sunday Island Online, 2 September 2007 Named Sri Lankan of the Year (1998) & voted the Most Effective Business Leader in Sri Lanka (2003) since independence in a poll conducted by the Lanka Monthly Digest magazine.Sri Lankans of the Year, Lanka Monthly Digest "Prime Minister, Ken Balendra head LMD opinion poll" , Daily News, 9 October 2003
References
External links Ken Balendra's Profile at PIPL