Friday, 13 January 2012 00:01
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As the chamber enters its third decade, Manager – Projects and Strategy Bindu Krishanthi Weerasinghe has taken over the responsibilities of the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) with effect from 1 January 2012 and will function as the custodian and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Announcing the appointment, HDCC Director General Azmi Thassim said: “With her proven track record of six years in the chamber, HDCC is very confident that Krishanthi will provide strong leadership to HDCC, and help us better serve the needs and promote the interests of our members as well as of the entire business community and young people in the District.
Thassim added that he would continue to support HDCC on a voluntary basis in his capacity as a Past President and he has now been elected as the President of the Past Presidents’ Consortium. He will also be taking up responsibilities as a consultant and advisor at the request of the management and the board.
Weerasinghe served as the Head of the Chamber Secretariat after joining the chamber as an Information Executive in 2005. She comes from the Southern Province and qualified from the University of Moratuwa with a BSc in Engineering and also gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Administration from the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. She also worked as a lecturer in the faculty of engineering at the University of Ruhuna.
During her six years in the chamber, Weerasinghe managed several projects with national and international partners, organised high profile events and took part in numerous international negotiations. She was also directly involved in the Tsunami Reconstruction Initiative for young people and in the formulation of the Women Empowering project.
She attended the SIDA International Training Programme ‘Putting Ideas to Work – Strategies for Innovation-Led Sustainable Growth’ in Sweden and in Bangkok. She also attended the Gender Diversity and Development certificate course in India.
A few years ago HDCC adopted a policy of gender equality and it is pleased that Weerasinghe has been unanimously selected as Chief Executive Officer, a very responsible and prestigious position. This is the first change of the institutional head of HDCC in 20 years as the Founder President Thassim served as the institutional head from its inception until 31 December 2011.
HDCC President Saheed Usuph said that he was very happy with the achievements of HDCC in the last two decades and expressed confidence that Weerasinghe and her team would take HDCC to great success and that the organisation would soon become a fully self-sustainable one, providing professional services to the business community and young people in the Hambantota District.
Weerasinghe is supported by the HDCC team which includes Fazlim Batcha (Manager – IT and Business Development), Sudhammika Wickramanayake (Manager – Hambantota Job Solutions), Sanjeewa Guruge (Executive – Hambantota Youth business Programme), Kumudnu Ramanayake (Executive – Admin & Secretariat) and the rest of the team of 17 members all with excellent skills and a high team spirit, and who all come from the Hambantota District.
“At this important time, HDCC would like to remember and thank all past and present staff, partners and volunteers who have worked with HDCC and who have always encouraged and supported us in bringing the organisation to its present level of achievement and success. All of us, especially our staff greatly benefited from the input we received from our stakeholders,” a statement from HDCC added.
HDCC is now a role model for regional level chambers of commerce in the country. It is also a good example of a high standard public-private partnership and carries out the role of private sector representative which supports the ongoing major development projects implemented by the government and works to achieve maximum benefit for local business and the community.
