03/09/2025. By Carmelle Wilkinson.
In 1993, amidst the chaos of civil war in Sri Lanka, a young man driven by pure will and an entrepreneurial flair, with no financial backing, and no industry connections, walked away from a stable corporate job and decided to start a business.
From the cramped living room of his family home, where his wife, two young children, and mother-in-law all shared two bedrooms, he began distributing wood paint from the back of a van.
Thirty-one years later, that start-up has evolved into JAT Holdings PLC, a publicly listed, multinational operation with over 600 employees across Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ghana, Vietnam and Australia, completely changing the wood coating landscape in Southeast Asia.
A key team member of this now flourishing business is his daughter, Curtin Commerce graduate Anika Williamson.
“Our living room was my dad’s office,” she said.
“I remember the first container being dropped in our backyard and Dad going around town with paint cans in his van. That’s how it all started.”
Anika (striped shorts) helping unload the very first container that they received with her brother and local boys from their village.
Though she now sits on the board as a director, her path into the family business was anything but straightforward.
After migrating to Perth in 2008 and becoming an Australian citizen, Anika was the first in her family to attend university.
“It was such a big decision, the whole family was involved, and I felt a huge responsibility to make them all proud” she says.
“Curtin was such an impactful experience, and I can honestly say that my Entrepreneurship lecturers and a few other key Curtin employees shaped the businesswoman I am today.
Anika’s younger brother and sister followed in her footsteps, choosing to pursue their tertiary education at Curtin too.
Following her graduation, Anika dived into working at JAT Holdings. She started in the paint stores, slowly working her way up to a Finance Manager position.
“Understanding the Company from its foundations was essential to me, I wanted to know how it all worked before taking any leadership positions” she reflected.
In 2014 she returned to Australia and pursued a career in private banking at one the big four banks, learning the structure and processes that would prove invaluable during the transition of JAT from a family business to a public listed entity.
In 2020, just before the world changed, she said she was visiting Sri Lanka for what was supposed to be one-month.
“Honestly, I didn’t take COVID seriously at first. I thought, it would blow over in two or three months. But that one month ended up being extended for almost two years, where it was just too difficult to get back to Perth,’’ she said.
As lockdowns grounded flights and plans, Anika said she found her attention slowly turn to the family enterprise.
Anika Williamson, Richard Gunawardene (brother- also Curtin graduate), Aelian Gunawardene (father) and Joyce Gunawardene (father’s partner).
“At first I was in Sri Lanka to train on a product we planned to launch in Australia. We had everything in place to launch, however as flights continued to be cancelled and lockdowns were enforced, my father asked if I could look into our property development business. Then it slowly became more permanent with me taking on responsibilities across different businesses’’ she said.
Anika’s first major assignment?
A stalled 48-unit apartment project halted mid-construction due to pandemic-related delays and import restrictions on critical construction materials.
With no background in property or construction, Anika found herself on-site, managing costs and timelines through sheer grit.
“I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew every day we delayed was money lost. I figured it out as I went. I spent months on a construction site, dealing with COVID outbreaks, monsoons, and I even caught dengue fever and spent one week in the hospital. We ended up completing the project despite all the challenges faced. That’s still one of my proudest career moments,’’ she said.
“Eventually, I was asked to join the JAT board and drive international expansion alongside key management personnel.”
Today, she leads JAT’s global growth into Vietnam and Australia, working alongside her father and the senior management at JAT Holdings. But she does it her way – with an eye toward balance, innovation, and impact. She also spreads her time working on multiple businesses in differing industries such as property development, mineral mining, furnishing and finishing.
“My dad is a machine. His work ethic is unmatched. I’ve had to learn that working hard is great, but working smart is essential,’’ she said.
“I used to chase perfection with everything – every email, every proposal. But now I focus on efficiency, effectiveness, and trusting the process.”
Anika is also a passionate advocate for female leadership.
“Making space for women in leadership and speaking up for equality is something I feel very strongly about,’’ she said.
“When I first moved back to Sri Lanka and would attend events or meetings related to the construction industry, I had instances of people assuming I was someone’s personal assistant. As if to say it was completely unexpected for a woman to be in that space.”
At the end of the day, Anika said travel, connection, teaching, mentoring and reflection remain her grounding rituals and nothing beats networking and building relationships.
“That’s my favourite part of this job. I love being on the ground with customers, hearing their stories, and solving their pain points. That energises me more than anything,’’ she said.
Looking ahead, Anika has a bold dual vision to cement JAT Holdings as a leading force in South Asia, Australia, and Africa – and to grow something deeply personal – a new medical cannabis venture.
“We just received our licence to grow and export medicinal cannabis from Sri Lanka. And this is the business I really, truly want to see through,’’ she said.
For her, it’s more than business.
Diagnosed with fibromyalgia at sixteen, Anika said she began using an extract of medicinal cannabis, CBD, for pain relief when she was thirty two, and has been an advocate ever since.
“It’s a product I believe in with my whole heart. As cannabis slowly becomes legalised and destigmatised throughout the world, it is hard to deny the medical benefits and other positive health impacts. I’m already thinking about launching a Ceylon Cannabis tea,’’ she said.
With one foot grounded in tradition and the other boldly stepping into the future, Anika isn’t just growing a business — she’s shaping a legacy with heart, purpose and vision.
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