PRINCIPAL
Vinoda Basnayake is the principal of VS Global. Basnayake is one of DC's top entrepreneurs equipped with a powerhouse combination of business, legal and government experience.
Basnayake was previously President and Senior Advisor on Global Partnerships of Aspiration, a multi-billion dollar leading financial and sustainability services Public Benefit Corporation, which enables individuals, corporations, and governments around the world to reduce their carbon footprints through its global reforestation program and portfolio of high-quality, nature-based carbon reduction projects.
Prior to joining Aspiration, Basnayake was a partner at the international law firm Nelson Mullins LLP where he was the Chairman of the Sovereign Practice and the DC Government Relations Practice. Basnayake advised foreign governments on U.S. policy and on how best to enhance their relationships with the U.S. government and advocate their policy objectives.
He has organized and participated in congressional delegations, trade missions, and regional economic conferences for sovereign clients and advised sovereign funds and international corporations on strategic foreign policy and market entry. He has previously represented the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and Sri Lanka, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and numerous other sovereigns, funds, and international corporations.
Mr. Basnayake is ranked in the Legal 500, has been recognized as The Hill's Top Lobbyists for the past several years, was ranked as Top 40 under 40 by the Washington Business Journal and was honored as Top Lobbyist of 2020 by the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics. He has also been named Most Influential Under 40 for the past seven years by Washington Life Magazine. Mr. Basnayake and his business ventures have also been profiled in Washingtonian, Complex, Vanity Fair, GQ, Washington Post and numerous other international publications.
Mr. Basnayake was previously Counsel at the international law firm Patton Boggs where he represented sovereign governments and funds. Prior to that he worked on the Finance Team of the Development Economics Group at the World Bank. He also worked in the U.S House of Representatives for Congressman Ronald Dellums (D-CA).
Mr. Basnayake has been nominated and confirmed for numerous political appointments. In 2020, Mr. Basnayake was appointed to be the first Chairman of Culture and Nightlife of Washington DC by Mayor Muriel Bowser. He was previously appointed Commissioner of the Small and Local Business Opportunity Commission for DC by former Mayor Adrian Fenty. He also served on Mayor Muriel Bowser's Transition Team for Economic Development and was named to the ReOpen DC Advisory Committee for safe reopening during the pandemic.
He has spoken in panels across the globe on the topics of finance and sustainability including the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa Summit in Dubai, Abu Dhabi Finance Week and the US Department of Commerce’s Sustainable Technology Forum in Egypt.
He also sits on numerous nonprofit and political boards. Mr. Basnayake was formerly the Chairman of the Board of DC Vote and sits on the boards of the Washington Institute, the Asian American Pacific Islander Victory Fund, Planet Reimagined, Soho House (Washington DC Committee) and the National Children's Museum.
Mr. Basnayake is an honors graduate from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business where he was a double major and double minor. He received the Dean's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to the Campus, received the Outstanding Student Leader Award and was selected student graduation speaker by his class. He received a joint degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School of Business. Basnayake was a Global Justice Fellow at UPenn and Senior Editor of the Journal of International Law.
Mr. Basnayake is an avid art collector whose collection includes original pieces by modern artist Justin Bua, portraitist Shawn Michael Warren, street artist Mr. Brainwash, muralist MuckRuck and pop icon Kanye West. He was also the executive producer of the movie Sprinter with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. He is also the CEO and Founder of Versus Equity, an award winning multi-vertical lifestyle brand with best-in-class hospitality venues, a cutting-edge marketing agency and an innovative venture arm headquartered in Washington DC.