Coffee with CEO: The Janashakthi story from a man who lived it

Recently 21 current and prospective CIMA students had the unique opportunity to meet one of the brains behind the success of Janashakthi Group, Ramesh Schaffer, FCMA, CGMA, Director at Janashakthi Group.

48 hours prior to this once in a lifetime meeting, this mixed bunch of youngsters comprising of school leavers, CIMA students, and those juggling full-time work with their studies, were issued a challenge; to conduct a research on the impact of entrepreneurship on society and business with special focus on how mergers and acquisitions play a part in this and present their findings to Schaffer.  

Challenge accepted!

Five teams with six participants each came up with their unique takes on this vast and fascinating topic. 

Schaffer himself provided his valuable insights into the startup industry and large scale mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in Sri Lanka over the last few years. Of course all teams conducted themselves admirably well but an interesting blunder did occur which still served as an unintentional lesson. In the excitement of presenting to a CEO, one team, instead of repeating the age-old definition of synergy, ‘one plus one equals three’, accidentally said, ‘two plus two equals three’. 

Noting the misstep, Schaffer was rather amused and agreed, “Some mergers do indeed end up with such an outcome.” 

What happened next was what everyone had been waiting all evening for. 

Hearing the Janashakthi story from a man who lived it himself. 

Schaffer had the room hanging on his every word as he recounted countless experiences during his time at Janashakthi as well as his life and experiences leading up to this. As a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Schaffer shared his experiences when studying CIMA in the UK. One thing that reverberated through the students present was a statement that had been displayed at his CIMA Institute; ‘Spoon feeding only teaches you the shape of the spoon’. 

His life story showed that while he is now seen as one of the country’s most successful CEOs, few see and acknowledge the long hours, determination and quick thinking that led him and their company to their current success. 

As he said, “Life is not easy, deal with it. Your circumstances are not reasons for your failure, they’ll just be your excuses.”

To end the session Schaffer shared one key piece of advice; the importance of keeping up-to-date with local and global news. He credits his success on this, his knowledge of finance and accounting as a result of CIMA and the ability to put two and two together to make the most use out of any opportunities that arise. 

The Assistant HR Manager was also present and presented several job opportunities at Janashakthi Group to the attendees. 

Do check out their website and contact MT Studio to speed up your job search!

Ready to be inspired?

Call 0771012009 now or inbox MT Studio on Facebook or Instagram, or MT Studio Sri Lanka on LinkedIn if you’re interested. Places are limited and candidates will be screened based on strict criteria.