Shemara Wikramanayake: From Sri Lankan Beginnings to Leading Macquarie Group on the Global Stage
AI-generated illustration; it does not depict Shemara Wikramanayake. An official portrait photograph is available on Macquarie Group’s website. No third-party portrait photograph has been reproduced.
Shemara Wikramanayake’s career has taken her from early years between Sri Lanka and England to the leadership of Macquarie Group, an Australian-founded global financial services organisation operating in 30 markets. Her story has particular resonance for young Sri Lankan women considering careers in finance, law and business: it is a record of long professional development, international experience and sustained responsibility, rather than a sudden ascent.
A Facebook post shared by Serendib News through the eLanka page on 15 October celebrated her achievements and the inspiration they may offer to women. The fuller account, drawn from Macquarie Group, Forbes and UNSW, adds important detail to that message. Wikramanayake was born in England to Sri Lankan parents; according to Forbes, she spent her early years in Sri Lanka and England before her family moved to Australia when she was 13.
Her journey is therefore not simply a story of a senior executive’s title. It encompasses education across borders, the application of legal and commercial training, and a career shaped within a single organisation that expanded its reach across markets and business lines.
An education that kept options open
Wikramanayake studied at the University of New South Wales, graduating with Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees. She later completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1996. Before joining Macquarie, she worked as a corporate lawyer at Blake Dawson Waldron in Sydney.
That combination of law and commerce provided a strong foundation for work involving both institutions and businesses. The two disciplines bring different but complementary perspectives: legal training develops close attention to obligations, evidence and structure, while commerce offers tools for understanding markets, finance and organisational decisions. In an industry where complex transactions are shaped by all of these factors, the pairing has practical significance.
Her education also reflects a route into finance that was not limited to a conventional specialist degree. Her early career began in law, before she moved into corporate advisory work and then into senior roles across financial services. For students considering professional pathways, this is a useful reminder that a career can develop through a sequence of related skills and experiences, rather than following a single straight line.
From Sydney to international business
Wikramanayake joined Macquarie in 1987, working in Macquarie Capital in Sydney. Over the decades that followed, she worked in six countries and across several areas of the business. Macquarie’s official biography records that she established and led its corporate advisory offices in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Malaysia, as well as its infrastructure funds management business in the United States and Canada.
These assignments were more than geographical moves. Building an office or business in a new market calls for an understanding of local conditions, the capacity to develop relationships, and the discipline to establish a lasting operation. Her progression through advisory and infrastructure roles gave her experience across different markets and organisational functions, providing a broad base for later leadership.
In August 2008, Wikramanayake became a member of Macquarie’s Executive Committee. She was appointed an Executive Voting Director of Macquarie Group Limited and Macquarie Bank Limited in August 2018. The milestones mark a gradual expansion of responsibility: from a Sydney-based role in corporate advisory to executive participation in the governance of a major financial group.
Leading Macquarie Asset Management and the group
Before becoming group chief executive, Wikramanayake spent a decade as Head of Macquarie Asset Management. Macquarie says that during this period the business grew into a world-leading manager of infrastructure and real assets, as well as a leading global public securities manager. This work placed her at the head of a business with a broad international reach and helped shape her experience before she assumed the top group role.
Since late 2018, she has served as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Group Limited. The group provides financial services across areas that include asset management, banking, advisory, leasing and risk, and capital solutions. Its Australian heritage remains central to its institutional identity even as its operations extend internationally.
The scale of the role is reflected not only in the organisation’s markets and services, but also in its governance. Macquarie Group’s Board is chaired by Glenn Stevens, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Wikramanayake serves as chief executive and a director, while also holding a number of external appointments relevant to business, investment and international development.
She is the Australian Government’s Business Champion for the Philippines and a member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s International Advisory Panel, the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab and the Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance. These roles place her work within a wider institutional context, connecting financial leadership with trade, investment and sustainable development.
Forbes has recognised Wikramanayake among the world’s most powerful women. Its 2025 Power Women list ranked her at number 58. Such rankings offer one measure of public recognition, while the milestones in her professional biography provide a more detailed account of how that standing was built.
AI-generated illustrative image, not a photograph of Shemara Wikramanayake. It represents the professional setting and themes discussed in this profile.
A timely profile, and a clear transition ahead
As of 16 October 2026, Wikramanayake remains Macquarie Group’s Managing Director and CEO. Macquarie announced in July that she will retire from the position and step down from the boards of Macquarie Group Limited and Macquarie Bank Limited effective 6 November 2026. Greg Ward, currently Head of Banking and Financial Services, is due to join the boards and succeed her on 7 November, subject to necessary approvals.
That announced transition provides a timely point to reflect on the breadth of her tenure, while making clear that her departure has not yet taken place. Macquarie’s Chair, Glenn Stevens, said the organisation would benefit from sustained growth across its businesses and a capable senior team. Wikramanayake, in the same announcement, described the role as a privilege and expressed confidence in the team and in Ward’s ability to lead the next stage.
For young Sri Lankan women weighing up careers in law, finance or business, her path offers an example, not a formula. Her professional journey includes formal study, early legal practice, years of work in corporate advisory, international assignments and the leadership of a major asset-management business before appointment as CEO. It shows how expertise can be accumulated over time and how a varied background can become an asset in complex organisations.
eLanka has previously published a leadership-philosophy profile based on Wikramanayake’s AGSM “Meet the CEO” conversation and a report on her address at the 2026 Macquarie Australia Conference. This article takes a different approach, focusing on the biographical steps and institutional roles behind her public standing.
The Facebook post by Serendib News captured a moment of community pride. The wider record helps explain why her career commands attention: a woman born in England to Sri Lankan parents, with early years in Sri Lanka and England and an education and working life in Australia, rose through international business to lead one of Australia’s largest financial institutions. For the global Sri Lankan community, her story is a notable example of professional achievement across borders and a reminder of the possibilities available to the next generation.
Sources
- Serendib News, via the eLanka Facebook page
- Macquarie Group Executive Committee biography
- Macquarie Group Board of Directors biography
- Forbes profile: Shemara Wikramanayake
- UNSW BusinessThink: Meet the CEO with Shemara Wikramanayake
- UNSW Law & Justice alumni profile
- Macquarie announcement on the November 2026 leadership transition
- Earlier eLanka profile on her leadership philosophy
- Earlier eLanka report on the Macquarie Australia Conference
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