Ratna “Roti” Sivaratnam was a the former Chairman and Managing Director Aitken Spence

Aitken Spence

Aitken Spence PLC is a blue chip conglomerate operating out of Colombo, Sri Lanka.-History:Aitken Spence was formed in 1868 as Clark Spence and Co. It was appointed as an agent for Lloyds of London in 1876. Aitken Spence was established as a limited liability company in 1948...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

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Educated that the prestigious Royal College Colombo

Royal College Colombo

The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...

, Sivaratnam was a Prefect

Prefect

Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....

, Captain of Rugby and Badminton, Regimental Sergeant Major

Regimental Sergeant Major

Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...

 of the Cadet Contingent

National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka)

The National Cadet Corps is the Sri Lankan military cadet corps and is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the Sri Lanka. Formally the Ceylon Cadet Corps It is open to high school students on voluntary basis and has a history of more than 126 years as of 2007. The officers are...

. In 1957 he led the royal team at the Bradby Shield Encounter

Bradby Shield Encounter

The Bradby Shield Encounter - commonly known as "The Bradby" - is the blue ribbon of Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. It is played annually between traditional rivals Royal College, Colombo, and Trinity College, Kandy. The encounter consists of two legs, one being played in the Royal College...

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After joining Aitken Spence, he was responsible for moving the blue chip company in to the field of tourism, which it came to dominate in a short time. The company under his direction began building hotels in the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

. After his retirement as Executive Chairman and CEO of Aitken Spence, he sat on several Boards as a non-executive Director, and was the Chairman of the Export Development Board and remained a non-executive Director of Aitken Spence till his death.

He and his wife Meropi had two sons, Romesh, was a chartered accountant and Dinesh, is a cardiologist in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

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