Hemas launches transformative leadership academy with RBL USA and Deepal

Hemas Holdings has launched its groundbreaking leadership academy, partnering with RBL USA and renowned consultant Deepal Sooriyaarachchi to cultivate a new generation of world-class leaders.

The academy, built on RBL’s acclaimed ‘Leadership Code’ framework, aims to deliver a transformative leadership experience across the Hemas Group.

In addition to the Leadership Code based competencies, the participants will be further trained in the three differentiating capabilities that are unique to Hemas leaders. The differentiating attributes will be living Hemas’ values, being data driven and entrepreneurial. Code and these differentiators will form the Hemas Leadership Brand. Through this investment into leadership in a structured manner, the group expects to ensure a uniform leadership experience to all stakeholders across all business units of the group.

As the academy progresses, the participants will also experience several bespoke development initiatives offered by several international providers.

Joining the launch event via video, RBL group founding partner internationally recognised management guru Prof. Dave Ulrich said the following:

“At the RBL Group, we’re honoured to partner with you at Hemas. We’re excited to embark on this journey together with the Leadership Code Academy. Our goal is to empower you, as individual leaders and as a collective leadership team, to achieve greater effectiveness.

We have applied the Leadership Code framework with over 10,000 leaders. Through 360-degree feedback, tailored training programs, and data-driven insights, we’ve helped shape the leadership skills of half the Fortune 500 companies. It’s a privilege to share this knowledge with you.

The world, regardless of location — be it Sri Lanka, Asia, the Americas, or Europe — is undergoing rapid and profound change. Demographic shifts are reshaping healthcare systems, and organisations must adapt. The key to this adaptation? Strong leadership.

We have spent the past 20 years at RBL uncovering the essence of effective leadership. Through extensive research involving 15 renowned experts who’ve authored over a hundred books and analysed millions of leadership profiles, we distilled the core elements into the Leadership Code.

The Leadership Code identifies five fundamental dimensions of leadership:

Strategy: Setting a clear direction and vision.

Execution: Turning strategy into reality through effective implementation.

Talent: Managing and developing your team.

Human Capital: Building a strong organisational culture and future-proofing your workforce.

Personal Proficiency: Cultivating self-awareness, integrity, and continuous learning.

The Leadership Code Academy will provide you with practical tools, skills, and activities to master these dimensions. You’ll learn how to set strategic goals, execute plans, manage talent, develop future leaders, and prioritise your own well-being.

We encourage you to actively engage with the course materials, listen attentively to the insights shared by experts, and experiment with the tools and techniques. Deepal, your facilitator, brings over 20 years of experience working with RBL and has guided countless leaders. His local insights and mindfulness practices will enrich your learning experience.

By embracing the Leadership Code, you’ll become a more effective leader, benefiting yourself, your team, your organisation, and ultimately, the country. We wish you all the best on this transformative journey. Thank you, Deepal, for facilitating this invaluable opportunity.”

Addressing the gathering, Hemas Holdings Group Director Murtaza Esufally stressed the importance of transitioning to the next level of leadership and the challenges one must face referring to his own leadership journey. “It sometimes takes a lot of courage to let go of your responsibilities and see how other professionals carry on those tasks even better than you” he said.

Acting Group CEO Ravi Jayasekera, stressed that this major initiative is a clear demonstration of the groups’ commitment to develop its talent pool to be world class.

The Leadership Code is research-based, comprehensive, yet simple. It goes beyond personal leadership qualities to define the four key roles leaders must play, with each area backed by proven best practices that managers can apply immediately. By making a business project a mandatory part of the program, we ensure direct business impact from this development investment.

While grounded in global best practices from RBL, the program is uniquely delivered by Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, whose extensive local experience and authentic approach resonate deeply with Hemas leaders. With over four decades of hands-on leadership experience, his approach is down-to-earth and authentic. This helps him to connect deeply with our leaders on local challenges, enriched by his own leadership journey, making the content not only credible but actionable. For us, Deepal is a true partner in leadership development.

Leadership Code based academy is a transformative experience for the participating senior managers from the different business verticals of the group. It will span over 3-4 months. In addition to the interactive classroom sessions where the participants will learn the key principles on how to become an effective leader, they will be personally coached by Deepal based on a 360 degree assessment done using the Leadership Code itself. The other unique feature of this learning intervention is the compulsory business project the participants will undertake, integrating the lessons learnt with the day-to-day reality, adding value back to the enterprise.

 The participants will also get experience on how to integrate the practice of mindfulness in the life of busy business executives.

Deepal is one of the most sought-after management consultant, trainer, author, internationally accredited master coach and a mentor and speaker. Former Managing Director of AVIVA Insurance now AIA he counts over four decades of industry experience, of which over 15 years at board level. Currently he serves on the boards of several leading organisations. Deepal has authored over 20 books on a wide range of topics from Business to Buddhism in English and Sinhala. He pioneered taking modern management concepts to local readers through ‘Sinhalen Business’ book series. He has conducted over 1,000 programs, motivational speeches across five continents in over 15 countries. Regarded as an authentic leader, Deepal has mentored a number of CEOs of leading businesses and a large number of C suite executives.