He had previously served as SEC Director General from 2012-2013 as well as its Director of Financial Services Academy and Capital Market Education and Training Division from 2008-2012.

Dissabandara is a Senior Professor of Finance and Corporate Governance in the Department of Finance of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

He obtained his B.Sc. in Management Special Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in 1993 and M.Sc. in Management (Finance) from the same university in 2000. He obtained his Ph.D. in Finance from Japan under the prestigious MONBUSHO (Japanese Government) scholarship in 2006.