Kulasekera retires from BOI service

B0I Sri Lanka Deputy Director General (Investment and Promotions) and its second senior most officer, A.M.C Kulasekera, who counts a career spanning nearly three decades recently retired.

Kulasekera joined in 1982 the then Greater Colombo Economic Commission, as the BOI was then known, initially as an accountant and was subsequently was elevated to a senior executive position in Investment Appraisal in 1985.

He left the institution for a brief stint with the Peoples Bank where he worked as a Financial Analyst and later was employed as a Management Accountant in the Colombo Dockyards Limited.

Kulasekera rejoined the GCEC in 1989 as Senior Financial Manager. In a relatively short time he played an instrumental role in transforming the BOI from a loss making to a financially strong position, during his tenure as Finance Director. In 1997 he was elevated to the position of Director of Investment.

Being a UK qualified Chartered Management Accountant by profession, Kulasekera is also a fellow of the Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, and a licentiate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, Bachelor of Commerce from the University Of Sri Jayawardenapura and Post Graduate Diploma holder in Information Technology and Management Information Systems of the Netherlands International Institute of Management (RVB).

Kulasekera has functioned in different capacities as Director, Executive Director and Deputy Director General in all spheres of BOI activities including Finance, Administration, Human Resources Development, Investment Appraisal, Monitoring, Investment Promotion, Investor facilitation, Media and Publicity. An all-rounder, he has thus been involved in all BOI operations. His responsibilities have also included Import export facilitation, Infrastructure development and the management of Export Processing Zones.

Among his functions was that of Secretary General of the High Powered Cabinet appointed Committee on Investment facilitation from 2005 to 2008, which was chaired by the Minister of Investment Promotion and later by the President.

He has travelled widely to represent BOI in Investment Promotion missions abroad at International conferences, such as the UNCTAD conferences held in Geneva and the GSP negotiations in Brussels.

Furthermore Kulasekera has also been a delegate on a number of state visits headed by the President, the Prime Minister or several cabinet ministers in a capacity of senior investment promotion official, where he has addressed audiences, conducted presentations and also negotiated investment proposals.

Being a long serving officer, Kulasekera has had the opportunity to work with almost all BOI Chairmen and Board of Directors. His strengths include a excellent understanding of media and IT issues, excellent communication skills and a close rapport with print and electronic media, the higher echelons of management of both public and private sector as well as staff of BOI.

Kulasekera is a strong believer in investor facilitation and has earned a reputation for addressing bottlenecks, concerns and issues faced by the investor community within a short time. His close interaction with the investor community during difficult times played an important part in the BOI securing high levels of FDI. The 2005-2010 period was one where the BOI was able to double the FDI inflows into Sri Lanka.

 In June 2011, Kulasekera was felicitated at the Mass Lanka Awards ceremony by the Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, for the services he has rendered and contribution made by him for development of Trade, Industry and Promoting and Facilitation of Investment into the country.

Kulasekera has been an ardent supporter of regional development in the country and has actively promoted BOI schemes to bring investment to outlying regions through the 200 GFP,50 GFP,300 Enterprises Programme ,and one of his recent initiatives was  to develop an  apparel Industry in the Eastern and Northern Provinces .