Raised in the Western Indian Ocean littoral State of Kenya, Rishan holds an undergraduate degree  in Political Science (International) from Columbia University in New York, USA, and a Masters in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford, UK. 

Alongside his academic and government backgrounds, Rishan brings a private sector approach, having held roles in various organisations and industries including Development Consulting, Technology, and Commodities. 

While at the University of Oxford, Rishan worked in Development Consulting and for the University, and prior to this he worked as Expansion Director and General Manager for a technology company, and as an Executive in a commodities trading company.

From 2015, Rishan returned to Sri Lanka to work for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Senior Research Analyst under the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Finance in Sri Lanka. He then went on to join the Geopolitical Cartographer and serves as Executive Director.