Dr. Indunil Liyanage awarded prestigious OPA National APEX Award 2016

Bank of Ceylon Chief Marketing Officer Dr. Indunil Liyanage received the prestigious National APEX award (Pinnacle Award) 2016 from President Maithripala Sirisena recently.

Organised by the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA), this prestigious award (Pinnacle Award) is presented to eminent professionals in Sri Lanka who have contributed to the development of their own field of professions and to society and achieved the pinnacle of their professional career. 

The award ceremony was conducted at the OPA 29th Annual Conference 2016 held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in the presence of a distinguished gathering recently, during the inauguration ceremony of the 29th Annual Conference 2016 – ‘Good Governance – the Way Forward’. 

Dr. Indunil Liyanage receiving the National Apex Award for Marketing from President Maithripala Sirisena as OPA President Prof. Rohana Kuruppu and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya look on

The Chief Guest was the President and the Guest of Honour Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. The welcome speech was delivered by OPA President Prof. Rohana Kuruppu and the keynote speech was by UNDP Country Director Jorn Sorensen. Second National APEX Awards Panel of Judges Chairman Prof. Willie Mendis also addressed the gathering. 

There were 10 National Apex Awards (Pinnacle awards) categories namely, Finance and Banking, Legal, Management, Economic and Statistics, Engineering Services, Health and Medical Services, Marketing and Hospitality, Science and Technology, Agriculture and Veterinary and Maritime and Defence. 

Out of 10 categories only seven were chosen for National APEX Awards this year. Dr. Indunil Liyanage was selected for the Marketing category where he counts over 27 years of marketing experience in combination of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), electronics, agriculture and financial services industry in Sri Lanka. 

Throughout his marketing career he has built several key international and local brands/products in the country. He has held senior positions in multinationals and local organisations in the capacity of Product/ Brand Manager, Marketing Manager, Assistant Vice President – Head of Marketing positions and currently he is a member of the Bank of Ceylon Corporate Management team. 

This National Pinnacle Award recognises his impressive career record, academic and professional achievements. His career experience covers many organisations including private and public sector since 1989. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dr. Liyanage holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Management from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka. He also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK. He is a Chartered Marketer since 1997 attached to the first batch of Chartered Marketers in Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Fellowship (FCIM) of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (U.K) and the Fellowship (FSLIM) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) for his outstanding contribution made to the marketing profession in Sri Lanka. 

Dr. Liyanage is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) since 1995 and member of Alumni Associations of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, University of Colombo and Faculty of Graduate Studies of University of Colombo. He was the first Sri Lankan selected for the ‘Intercultural Education for Global Managers’ programme at the Japan America Institute of Management Science (JAIMS) in Hawaii, USA. He was awarded a full scholarship by the Fujitsu Foundation of Japan to complete this programme, in recognition of his academic excellence and potential contribution to international understanding and goodwill in 1996. 

Dr. Liyanage has been honoured with the ‘50 Most Talented CMOs Award’ at the Golden Globe Tiger Awards 2013 at the World Marketing Summit (WMS) held at Putrajaya International Convention (PICC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2013 and also awarded ‘100 Most Influential Marketing Leaders Listing’ at the World Marketing Congress 2015 held in Mumbai, India.