Ms. Fernando succeeds her father, the late Mr. Neil Fernando, Founder Chairman and Owner of Neil Marine and the Penthouse Group of companies.
Ms. Fernando holds a BSc. in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco, USA, along with an LLB (QLD) Hons. from the University of London, UK and an LLM Hons. in International Business and Commercial Law from the University of West London, UK.
While employed, she successfully passed the QMS Lead Auditor examination in Mumbai, conducted by Lloyd’s Registrar, UK, and oversaw the entire Group’s ISO /Quality Management System.
She has also gained many years of business and industry experience, under the guidance and mentorship of the late Mr. Neil Fernando, making her suitably qualified and experienced to fulfil and discharge the responsibilities and duties of her new role as Chairperson of Neil Marine and the Penthouse Group.
Commenting on the change in leadership, Ms. Fernando said, “Under the mentorship of my late father, I have gained a holistic understanding of our business operation and established rewarding relationships with our valuable customers in Sri Lanka and abroad.
Through my academic pursuits, I have gained a wealth of experience and seen and understood the world at large, particularly in the sphere of international business and the laws and treaties governing it.
Therefore, relying on the experience I have gained, and the guidance provided to me by my late father, I intend to guide the business into a new era, where we can leverage our strengths and our global relationships to grow stronger, and work with our valued customers, to win together.
I take this opportunity to reassure our new and existing customers that, while Mr. Neil Fernando may no longer be with us, his spirit and vision remains stronger than ever at Neil Marine and the Penthouse Group.”
Established in 1969, as a pioneer in the fiberglass boat manufacturing industry in Asia for over 52 years, Neil Marine is one of South Asia's Largest Fiberglass Boat Builders.
To date, the Company has built and supplied over 40,000 vessels and exported more than 2000 vessels to markets in the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Neil Marine’s portfolio of vessels include fishing boats, commercial & work boats, passenger ferries, patrol & surveillance crafts, luxury motor yachts & cruisers and luxury motor sailors and catamarans, with lengths ranging from 6m to 35m.
Neil Marine is an ISO 9001:2008 certified, Sri Lanka BOI approved company.
The Company is also approved by the Lloyds Register of Shipping, Det Norske Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping and the Indian Register of Shipping, and is accredited by the IACS (international association of classification societies).
Through its various subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the Penthouse Group, the business is also a diversified conglomerate with interests in associated marine services, including being the sole distributor for both Suzuki Outboard Motors and Doosan Inboard Marine Diesel Engines in Sri Lanka, while also acting as the sole distributor for world renowned Shell lubricants in Sri Lanka.
The Group is also involved in the businesses of polyurethane foam products, sewing machines, apparel industry support services and others.