Mr. Goonetilleke has over ten years of experience in leadership roles within the textile industry. He has formerly served as Director, Brandix X’pressions Ltd and CLT Apparels (India) Pvt Ltd – fully owned subsidiaries of Brandix Lanka Ltd. He has also served as Managing Director/CEO of Textured Jersey Lanka (Pvt) Ltd -a subsidiary of Brandix Lanka Ltd. He has served as MD/CEO of Linea Clothing (Pvt) Ltd – a subsidiary of MAS Holdings Ltd and CEO of Elpitiya Plantations Ltd, a Carson Cumberbatch company.

Mr Goonetilleke holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom and is a product of Royal College, Colombo.

“Hayleys MGT has undergone a complete restructuring and transformation, and is poised to take advantage of the enormous potential for further growth,” said Mr. Goonetilleke. “We intend to assert our position as a leading fabric manufacturing entity in the country and I am thrilled to work towards this.”

Several measures taken including successful implementation of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning System have placed the business on a recovery path, a recent statement revealed. The company registered a cash profit of nearly US$ 800,000 for the first six months of 2012-13, reporting a Gross Profit growth of 47 per cent to US$ 2.6 million for the six months ending 30th September 2012, signaling a major turnaround.

Established in 1993, Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills PLC is the pioneer in textiles manufacturing in Sri Lanka. We provide end to end solutions from design to manufacturing of fabric made out of natural and synthetic fibers. Company also has the capability of in-house printing with 16-colour printing machines, fabric brushing machines and sueding machines. Hayleys PLC, our parent company, is the oldest conglomerate in Sri Lanka with interests in diverse business operations. Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills shares are listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (symbol: MGT.N0000).