Global recognition for Expolanka’s social marketing at 20th World Brand Congress

Sri Lanka’s diversified conglomerate Expolanka won international acclaim at the glittering 20th World Brand Excellence Awards Ceremony held at Taj Lands End, Mumbai. It was bestowed with the prestigious Award for Social Marketing in recognition of its work carried out in the area of CSR.

Expolanka’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications Paddy Weerasekera with the coveted World Brand Congress Award for Social Marketing

Expolanka Holdings PLC Group CEO Hanif Yusoof said: “We at Expolanka are both delighted and deeply honoured with this recognition where our efforts have been appreciated by a global jury consisting of an eminent panel of judges.”

He hailed this as “an endorsement of the company credo: doing business with the dare-to-do attitude”.

“Corporate Social Responsibility is about demonstrating our Expolanka values beyond the confines of the company. It is about being good citizens by getting involved in the communities to which we belong. It is a collective and individual commitment to improving the cultural, social and physical environment in which we live and work. The wellbeing of our communities is also an important aspect of our business. The areas we focus on are health, environment, education, disaster relief and community development,” said Expolanka’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications Paddy Weerasekera.

“Caring for stakeholder interest is a core value of Expolanka Holdings. This community-oriented culture ensures that all business activity is undertaken in an ethical and sustainable manner while keeping the best interest of the community in mind. The world expects much from us, we have to deliver not only what our customers want, but also what every stakeholder demands from us. We thus focus our energies and reinvigorate our thought process to contribute positively towards the environment, society and humanity at large,” Weerasekera added.

“Being customer-centric, we have spread across the globe in order to serve them better. Our presence in 12 countries and 38 cities has established the Expo brand as a force to reckon with in the Asian sub-continent, and locally too, as a rapidly-growing conglomerate. Added to this our diverse corporate campaigns in the recent past have further consolidated our strength in the areas of transportation, international trading, manufacturing and strategic investments,” Yusoof said.

The World Brand Congress is the single largest rendezvous of the best brains behind some of the world’s most successful and sought after brands. The Congress is an annual meeting place for leaders from every sector and continent and is a non-profit making activity aimed at a professional cause of development and growth.

With a membership embracing over 100 countries across the globe, Brand Asia is a body committed to raising the standards of marketing and brand management across all industries in Asia and the world.

Expolanka Holdings PLC – the holding company of the Expolanka Group – commenced operations in 1978. The company is listed in the Main Board of the Colombo Stock Exchange as a diversified conglomerate. With diversified interests in transportation, international trading, manufacturing and strategic investments sectors, the Group, which has a global presence in over 12 countries and 38 cities, has 46 subsidiaries and joint venture companies. Expolanka Holdings PLC posted a net profit of Rs. 1.3 billion in the year ended 31 March 2011.