Our Leadership

Dhammika Gunasekera founded Dienge in 2002 and is its owner. He is a collector of fine art, carpets, silverware and antique furniture. Inspired by the world famous silverware of Buccelatti and Tiffany & Co., Dhammika visited silver artisans’ workshops in Sri Lanka in 2001. Although he was enthralled by the sheer quality of their products, he realised that the range of products were limited with minor evolution of design. Subsequently, he decided to help the artisans’ business by establishing an organisation that buys and sells custom-made artefacts based on his own preferences. His innovative designs include sterling silver ornaments in the form of conch shells (‘valampuri’), pots of prosperity (‘punkalasa’) and archways.

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In 2016, Dhammika discovered his hidden talent to draw art that harmonises colours and shapes, influenced by the writings and theories of Kandinsky and of the art movements of purism and cubism; although visually his art is very different from the artists and art movements which inspire him. Being a senior committee member of the Gemmological Society of Royal College, Colombo, Dhammika also developed a passion to collect and broaden his knowledge about gemstones. Thus, when he established Dienge, he began investing in gemstones both precious and semi-precious. These include alexandrites, sapphires, rubies and amethysts.

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Dhammika greatly values generosity and helps a large number of people and institutions financially. For example, he has given donations to the Sri Lanka Cancer Society, sponsored the Devapathiraja College (a school founded by his grandfather Sir Ernest De Silva) Rugby team in Rathgama, a rural area in Sri Lanka and met university tuition fees of students.

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Before founding this organisation, Dhammika was a partner at Messrs. U. N. Gunasekera, a construction firm in Sri Lanka established by his father. The first two five-star hotels in Sri Lanka, namely, Lanka Oberoi (Cinnamon Grand) and Ceylon Inter-Continental (Kingsbury) were built by this company. Dhammika graduated from Imperial College London in 1989 with first class honours in civil engineering (BEng). Broadening his horizons to the field of accountancy, he became a passed finalist of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka in 1986. Furthermore, he topped his batch in the Bachelor of Science degree that he completed at University of Colombo in 1984. Dhammika was the head prefect of Royal College, Colombo in 1980.