NHK CEO says CIMA helps progress

NMK Management Services CEO Manjula Priyadarshana

Manjula Priyadarshana, who schooled at Ananda Sastralaya Kotte, secured the island’s 20th best ‘A’ Level results in the Commerce stream.

Like many of today’s students, he began CIMA prior to pursuing a degree from the University of Sri Jayawardenepura. Upon completing CIMA, Priyadarshana began his work life. Today he is the CEO of a conglomerate with a turnover of $ 140 million. NMK Holdings, which has been operating in Sri Lanka for 30 years, is a leader in the local edible oil industry. The company is synonymous with the brand name Marina, with its extensive product portfolio.

Priyadarshana is of the view that today’s business leaders must be decisive and persevering to lead their teams to success. In this era of rapidly evolving technology and increased globalisation, understanding these changes and adapting accordingly are integral for businesses to avoid failure. He encouraged business leaders to look to the future and identify factors that need to be altered early on. Commenting further, Manjula said: “Occasionally, leaders need to be the change. Living in Sri Lanka, at times the changes which take place in developed countries do not reach us immediately but with technology there is no time gap as such.”

Around 50% of Priyadarshana’s employees are CIMA graduates. He believes that CIMA is a qualification which guides the entire thinking process, helping professionals plan their respective careers and progress.

“CIMA taught me value creation, to maximise profits in a sustainable way in addition to the technical knowledge I gained. Most CIMA subjects groom individuals to assess situations and make decisions under varying circumstances,” says Priyadarshana. He does not want CIMA graduates to shy away from challenges. 

Priyadarshana is of the opinion that CIMA graduates undergo a tedious process and they must demonstrate confidence in this process, while at the same time not compromising on their ethics. It is ultimately the latter which will give more value and respect to professionals.

Priyadarshana is a firm believer in giving something back to society as an individual who has benefited immensely from a successful education and career. Priyadarshana hopes to create a business consultancy for the local SME sector in order to promote national competitiveness. According to him, it is only national competitiveness which will enable Sri Lanka to compete in the global marketplace.

“I see a lot of SMEs not progressing to the next stage because of small barriers which they view as big barriers. Changing perspectives or a small paradigm shift can alter a business’s sustainability. Being an island with a population of merely 20 million people, Sri Lanka’s market potential lies outside the country. To increase national competitiveness, a lot of SMEs will have to come in,” Priyadarshana explains.