Dr. Rohantha awarded Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam ‘Pride of Nation’ award

The Dr. Abdul Kalam College of Management Technology – India in partnership with Vishwam Campus – Sri Lanka selected respected marketing professional Dr. Rohantha Athukorala for the ‘Pride of Nation’ award 2019 for his outstanding contribution to the country and for standing up for good governance even giving up key jobs in the public sector to fight corruption. 

Dr. Abdul Kalam was the 11th president of India was an aerospace scientist and later on was known as the ‘missile man’ due to the intimate involvement of the India’s civilian space program and military development efforts. Widely referred to as the ‘People’s President’, Dr. Abdul Kalam, while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management collapsed and died from cardiac arrest on 27 July 2015, aged 83. In memory of this great personality, the ‘Dr. Abdul Kalam Excellence Awards’ is being conferred on exceptional individuals, said Foundation President Prof Dr. Dexter Fernando. 

“We are honoured to have Dr. Rohantha Athukorala being awarded the ‘Pride of the Nation’ award for his outstanding contribution to the country whilst working for International Public Sector, State organisations and top multinationals. What is noteworthy is his rigor to practice strong governance when under pressure externally,” said Prof Dexter.

Dr. Athukorala started his illustrious career in Marketing at Lever Brothers and then went on to serve Reckitt Benckiser, where he twice won the ‘Marketing Achiever Award’ in the country by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Serving the International Public sector – UNOPS, he was instrumental in setting up the first post-war Industrial Zone in the North – Achchuveli funded mainly by the Government of India. 

There after he went on to be appointed Chairman Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the largest retail chain in the country – Lanka Sathosa where he practiced strong governance. 

Dr. Athukorala is now the President/CEO of Clootrack – Sri Lanka and Maldives – the first Artificial Intelligence (AI) based real-time perception management global company operating in 57 countries. Quoting the words of Dr. Abdul Kalam, Athukorala said: “Some of the brightest minds in the country can be found in the last benches of the classroom.”