OUR ANALYSTS

With a 7-year tenure at Frontier Research, Nimesha provides overall strategic direction to the Macro-Economic Research and Sector Research divisions, leading a team of over 10 individuals. She is responsible for ensuring that the research insights effectively cater to the information needs of the business clientele and are delivered in a timely manner. She also oversees work on new product development, client management and team growth, with a strong emphasis on carrying forward the legacy and vision of vision of Frontier's late founder, Amal Sanderatne.

Nimesha also manages a family business in the manufacturing and retail space, which has allowed her to effectively use lessons learned to benefit both organizations in the past few years.

Before joining Frontier, she held the position of Assistant Manager - Financial analyst, reporting to the CEO of MAS Active- Linear Intimo.

Thilina Panduwawala is Head of Economic Research, leading macro-analysis and forecasting. He returned to Frontier in 2022 after an 18-month stint at the ADB as a consultant to its Sri Lanka Resident Mission, where he provided macro-monitoring and analysis for the ADB's operations in Sri Lanka. In his previous four years at Frontier, Thilina led work in embedding politics into economic analysis and making it an integral part of Frontier's approach.

Outside of Frontier, he co-authored Evolution of Chinese Lending to Sri Lanka Since the mid-2000s in 2022, a research paper published by the China-Africa Initiative at Johns Hopkins University and presented at the 2023 DebtCon-6 conference held at Princeton University. He is currently co-authoring two papers on Sri Lanka's sovereign default for the Finance for Development Lab (FDL) based in Paris, France. Thilina has also authored unpublished reports on SOEs, sub-national government and social security, and electoral demographics of Sri Lanka for international agencies.

Chayu is currently the Head of Macroeconomic Risk Advisory at Frontier Research. He leads work in understanding varying macroeconomic risks and tying them into the Sri Lankan economic context, currently focusing on debt crises in Sri Lanka and other countries, monetary and financial sector risks, and energy sector developments. He takes a key role in in the development of Frontier's views on interest rates and the LKR, and presenting content to Frontier's clients. He has been featured on varied local and international media for his views on the economy.

Chayu also acts as an Executive Director for DaddysLanka (Pvt) Ltd, a family-run institute working in the field of special needs and mental health care.

Nashalie currently functions as a Product Lead and works within the Economic Research team at Frontier. She plays a key support role in Economic research for Frontier’s reports and in presenting content to Frontier’s client base. She also contributes to the macro-economic modelling and forecasting function at Frontier.

Nashalie has been featured on Channel Eye’s ‘Business Today’ where she discussed Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and necessary reforms, and also moderated PWC Academy’s ‘Quarter 02, Economic Outlook 2022 Series’. Prior to joining Frontier, she contributed to economic research at the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Aparni’s role at Frontier primarily focuses on business development, client coordination, recruitment, and various operational tasks. Additionally, she also takes charge of creative designs and the upkeep of our social media channels.

Before joining Frontier, she started her career at Trailfinders – Walkers Tours, where she developed her interest in digital creatives and social media management. She continues to use her skills outside of Frontier as well, to create awareness on women and other minority rights with related advocates and organizations. She was also a writer and a subeditor for Oceanlust magazine, focusing on ocean sustainability and blue economy.

She is a graduate of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University holding a BSc in Built Environment (Architecture), and is currently pursuing her MSc in Sustainable Tourism at University of Peradeniya.