Employee Stories
Ransi Dharmasiriwardhana
An inspiring journey of career growth
Ransi’s career at Standard Chartered is a story of curiosity, courage and continuous learning.
From starting out on a contract role in Sri Lanka to taking on a global role, her journey reflects how openness to change and a strong sense of purpose can shape a meaningful career. In this feature, Ransi shares reflections from her career at the Bank, the choices that stretched her, the experiences that shaped her and the lessons she continues to carry with her.
Careers rarely follow a straight line, and, and mine certainly didn’t. Looking back, what stands out to me isn’t a series of titles, but a journey shaped by curiosity and willingness to step into the unknown.
I was born in Kuwait and spent almost two decades growing up in the United States. After completing my degree in International Business at the University of Maryland, I began my career as a Management Trainee at Kohl’s. While the program gave me a strong foundation, I quickly realised, it wasn’t where my heart was. At 22, on what felt like both a leap of faith and pull towards something deeper, I resigned and moved to Sri Lanka to reconnect with my roots and reassess what I wanted from my career.
“My career grew not because I had a perfect plan, but because I was supported to explore, learn and stretch.”
Ransi Dharmasiriwardhana
My early professional years in Sri Lanka were outside banking, first as a Project Manager at the American Chamber of Commerce and later leading a USAID/Microsoft funded nonprofit project. The work was meaningful, but I was still searching for a role that truly aligned with my values.
That sense of alignment came when I joined Standard Chartered 18 years ago, on a fixed term contract as an HR Business Partner. I didn’t come in with a long-term plan, just with an interest in people and to learn something new. What I ended up finding was an organisation that gave me room to grow, challenge myself, and learn from both success and setbacks. Through my journey, the Bank also supported my continued learning, including the completion of a MSc in Business Psychology from Heriot Watt University,
Over time I had the privilege of taking on broader responsibilities, including being appointed as the Head of HR for Sri Lanka during a period of significant economic and political uncertainty. Leading through that time was both humbling and formative. Navigating crisis reinforced the importance of human leadership, staying present, listening with empathy and making decisions that balanced business realities with genuine care for people. Alongside my HR role, I also served as Sri Lanka’s Diversity and Inclusion Chair.
In recent years, my journey has taken on a more global dimension. I moved to Singapore to take on a role within the Group Talent team working closely with the CIB business on driving a skills-based organisation. More recently, I have transitioned into the Global Diversity and Inclusion team, where I now lead the Bank’s gender agenda globally. Diversity and Inclusion has always been a thread running through my career, it’s a space I’ve been drawn to alongside my day-to day roles and I have seen first-hand the impact it can have on culture, helping build a more human Bank. Both roles have expanded my perspective and reminded me how much impact is created through collaboration across cultures, geographies and lived experiences.
Alongside my role at the bank, coaching has become an important part of my work and identity. I am a professionally certified coach (PCC) and working with leaders across geographies and career stages has reinforced my belief that growth comes from reflection, honest, conversations, and creating space for people to show up as themselves.
What has kept me at the Bank, is knowing there is space to grow, to question, to learn, and to bring your whole self to work, even as roles, markets and contexts change.
If there is one lesson this journey has taught me, it’s that following your passion doesn’t require certainty, it requires trust, trust in yourself, in others and the process. And leadership, at its best, is human; grounded in empathy, authenticity, and how we show up for others. When we lead this way, we don’t just build careers, we build lasting impact. I am deeply grateful for the people who have supported and challenged me along the way, and for an organisation that continues to invest in potential, learning and purpose.