Brandix gears for growth with Centre for Creative Leadership

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

More than 1,100 executives to undergo leadership acceleration training under two-year collaboration

Sri Lanka’s single largest apparel exporter Brandix has enlisted the services of the USA headquartered Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL), one of the world’s Top 5 providers of executive education, in a major new initiative to underwrite its next phase of growth through group-wide leadership training.

This leadership development program represents CCL’s first assignment conducted in Sri Lanka for a Sri Lankan company, and is intended to develop leadership bench strength at Brandix and a strong, capable succession pipeline of leaders steeped in the Brandix culture, the company said. As part of the two-year collaboration, more than 1,100 high-potential Brandix executives are to undergo transformational training in leading self, leading teams and leading organisation, with the training modules appropriately distributed on the basis of areas of responsibility. “Since inception, our focus has been to grow great leaders. We have used the services of many institutions in the past, but have been most impressed with the Centre for Creative Leadership. We have now decided on a strategic tie-up with the Centre to create best in class leaders to fuel our growth,” the Group’s CEO Ashroff Omar said. The Centre for Creative Leadership ranks fourth overall in the 2014 Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education released in May this year and is placed higher than educational institutions of the calibre of University of Chicago Booth, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, London Business School and INSEAD. With offices in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, CCL also ranks No. 4 globally for custom programs. For the 13th consecutive year, CCL is the only institution — from more than 75 in the Financial Times survey rankings — that focuses exclusively on leadership development. “Apparel manufacturing and export has a significant impact on Sri Lanka’s GDP, and CCL is privileged to play a part in contributing to this nation’s economic growth by partnering with the truly talented team at Brandix,” said CCL President and CEO John Ryan. “We are delighted to join with Brandix in creating a stronger business and also delivering societal impact for the people of Sri Lanka,” said CCL’s Asia-Pacific Vice President and Managing Director Roland Smith. “Leadership development has a ripple effect, and, as the common culture and leadership language cascades to the larger team, boundaries will shrink across Sri Lanka’s communities. CCL and Brandix invite other foundations and bodies to join us in strengthening this nation’s social fabric through deploying initiatives that impacts leadership in youth, women and other social groups.” One of the largest suppliers of apparel to top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix employs over 48,000 associates across several integrated manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka, and large operations in India and Bangladesh. Committed to quality, service and compliance with international labour and environmental standards, Brandix is focused on enhancing the welfare and development of its workforce. Its talent development philosophy has evolved from focusing on individual needs and development to building a talent pipeline to strengthen organisational capability.