Monday, 16 September 2013 00:00
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka Region recently concluded their CEO’s Breakfast Forum titled ‘Behaviour Change for a Healthy Business’ at the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo. Honorary President Dr. Rohan Fernando and Chairperson Nadi Dharmasiri of The Chartered Institute of Marketing Sri Lanka Region attended the occasion.
The forum brought together an eminent multidisciplinary panel together with Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri as the Moderator. Providing an overview of the topic ‘Behaviour Change for a Healthy Business,’ Dr. Dharmasiri stated: “Maintaining harmony is a challenge – it is an ongoing series of hurdles to climb.” He further elaborated on the importance of the discussion of this timely topic.
Dr. Dharmasiri is a Senior Faculty Member and Management Consultant of the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He also serves as an adjunct professor in International Human Resource Management at the Price College of Business at University of Oklahoma.
He has over two decades of both private and public sector working experience in diverse environments including Unilever and Nestle. He is a Commonwealth AMDISA Doctoral Fellow and a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow. He holds a PhD and an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa. He is a Chartered Electrical Engineer and a member of the Chartered Institute of Management, UK.
CBL Foods International Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Samitha Perera shared his insights on the private sector perspective. Perera holds an MBA from University of Lincoln and is currently reading for his PhD. Having worked at blue chip companies in strategic leadership positions, he brings in global exposure handling numerous global projects. He is the immediate past Vice President of the Institute of Personnel Managers in Sri Lanka and a Council Member of CMA (Australia).
The President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka and the President of Ceylon College of Physicians Dr. Udaya Ranawaka shared his expertise on the main topic from a medical perspective. Dr. Ranawaka is the President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka and the President of the Ceylon College of Physicians.
He is a Consultant Neurologist in the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. He holds an MBBS, MD (Medicine) and MRCP (UK). He is a Fellow of the Ceylon College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of London, American Stroke Association and the American Academy of Neurology.
Dhara Wijeyatilaka, Secretary of the Ministry of Technology Research and Atomic Energy elaborated her views from a public sector perspective. Wijeyatilake during her presentation stated: “The personality that you are and the capability to handle challenges are what is important.” She added: “Quality time with family is very important.”
Wijeyatilaka is a Law Graduate and an Attorney-at-law. She began her career in the public service in 1974 and held many positions in the Ministry of Justice and was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry in 1994. With this appointment she became the first woman in the public service of Sri Lanka to be appointed to the post of Secretary to a Cabinet level Ministry. She was a founding member and first Secretary General of SAARCLAW and served in this capacity for nine years. The forum was brought to a conclusion with a panel discussion and questions posted by the audience who were presented.
Dharmasiri stated: “Sincere appreciation to all our speakers for sharing their experiences, knowledge and insights on this timely topic, I am confident that all of us will now make a promise to ourselves to think and act differently in our work, family or personal lives, whilst changing our approach towards health to be more holistic and balanced as it is clear that behaviour changes are crucial to implement these new measures in our daily lives. As leaders, besides our diverse responsibilities we also have a role to play; to guide, influence and enable our workforce to live an active balanced healthy lifestyle in order to be successful in every aspect of our lives.”
Flora and Stafford Motor Company partnered with CIM Sri Lanka Region as the Principal sponsor and Corporate sponsor respectively.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the largest community of professional marketers in the world with 100 years of heritage delivering education, membership and insight offerings to the marketing and sales profession.
As the world’s largest institute for professional marketers, CIM places great emphasis in maintaining high standards of quality and integrity and as such, develops and sets standards within marketing landscapes of UK and other regional countries in which it operates. The CIM qualification is the only international qualification recognised by the Royal Charter in United Kingdom.
The CIM Sri Lanka Region is the first international branch of CIM UK and comprises of the largest number of members, both professional and students, of CIM outside the UK; 3,000 student members and over 1,500 professional members, respectively. The regional institute has always campaigned for greater recognition and excellence in the marketing profession in Sri Lanka, through education, training and development.
