CMI elects Murali Prakash as President at 18th AGM

Seated from left: Niranjali Weerasekera FCMI (Secretary), Malraj B. Kiriella FCMI (Immediate Past President), British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and British Ambassador to the Maldives James Dauris, Murali Prakash FCMI (President), Indra Kaushal Rajapaksa MCMI (1st Vice President), M.M.S. Quvylidh FCMI (2nd Vice President), and Chaminda Ediriwickrema FCMI (Treasurer)

Standing from left: Chaminda De Silva MCMI, Nirmalan Nagendra FCMI, Ramesh Dassanayake FCMI, Professor Ajantha Dharmasiri FCMI, Rohitha Amarapala FCMI (Assistant Treasurer), and Sajith De Silva FCMI (Assistant Secretary)

The 18th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), Sri Lanka branch was held recently at the Galle Face Hotel Colombo. British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and British Ambassador to the Maldives James Dauris graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.  

The Annual General Meeting this year was indeed noteworthy as the evening that followed with cocktails had a large gathering of ‘C’ level Executives representing leading organisations from the corporate sector, presidents of other professional bodies, corporate clients and potential members were invited with the objective of elevating the image of CMI in Sri Lanka.

The members of the Institute unanimously elected Ambeon Group’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Murali Prakash as the President of CMI Sri Lanka for the year 2019/2020.

Murali Prakash is currently the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Ambeon Capital PLC and Ambeon Holdings PLC. Ambeon Capital PLC is the investment company and the parent of Ambeon Holdings PLC, the Investment Holding and Management Company of Ceylon Leather Products PLC, Colombo City Holdings PLC, Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, Millennium I.T.E.S.P. Ltd., Royal Fernwood Porcelain Ltd., South Asia Textiles Ltd. and Taprobane Capital Plus Ltd. 

While acknowledging CMI Sri Lanka branch highlights and achievements of the previous year, Prakash outlined the strategic plan he wished to implement during his tenure this year, which includes being relevant to tomorrow’s customers today and demystifying uncertainties. The context revolved around the need to think and act differently in understanding change and demystifying future. 

Commenting at the event, Prakash stated, “Our task therefore as a chartered management body would be to bring about a thought leadership, that would transform and build a society which would be ready for the future. To find gaps and cater to building bridges that would demystify uncertainties for managers. The programs that we do and the activities that we pursue would have this underlying principle.” 

He further stated, “The thought on the need to go beyond simple resource management of yesterday to collaborative management of today to building resilience and Intrapreneurship for tomorrow where disruption is not only anticipated but pre-empted.”

The new board for the year 2019/2020 consists of Murali Prakash FCMI (President), Malraj B. Kiriella FCMI (Immediate Past President), Indra Kaushal Rajapaksa MCMI (1st Vice President), M.M.S. Quvylidh FCMI (2nd Vice President), Niranjali Weerasekera FCMI (Secretary), Chaminda Ediriwickrema FCMI (Treasurer), Sajith De Silva FCMI (Assistant Secretary), Rohitha Amarapala FCMI (Assistant Treasurer) and Chaminda De Silva MCMI, Nirmalan Nagendra FCMI, Ramesh Dassanayake FCMI, Professor Ajantha Dharmasiri FCMI and Lakmal Senanayake CMgr. MCMI and Kamaya Perera FCMI as committee members.

CMI is the only chartered professional body dedicated to promoting the highest standards in management and leadership excellence. With over 100,000 alumni members worldwide, CMI continues to create an impressive network of businessmen and businesswomen across the globe. Formed in 1996, CMI Sri Lanka, currently has over 150 exclusive members and has created a broader Management Club consisting of several hundred members across the island. The key Patron of the Sri Lanka branch is the current British High Commissioner, with the Vice Patron being Country Director of the British Council in Sri Lanka. The membership to this professional body is granted exclusively based on the highest levels of selection and interviews done from the UK. The applications are reviewed with recommendations and personalised verification is performed to ensure the criteria are met.

(Prakash’s presentation could be accessed via CMI Sri Lanka FB/LinkedIn pages or/and his personal LinkedIn profile (Murali Prakash).)