The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) held its 50th Annual General Meeting on 26th June 2020 at Marino Beach Hotel, adhering to the health and safety guidelines given by the government. Roshan Fernando was officially elected as its 42nd President in the 50th year and a new Council of Management and an Executive Committee too was elected. .
Roshan Fernando currently holds the position of General Manager – Marketing at the renowned media station Derana. During his illustrious career in the media industry, Roshan Fernando has held several key positions at some of the most sought-after media stations in the country and contributed significantly to propel their growth momentum during his tenure.
Roshan has served as a member of the Export Development Board Technical Evaluation Committee for India Market Entry Study for Sri Lankan Businesses and he has worked with many Small and Medium Enterprises, Women Entrepreneurship Development programmes and projects organized by the Industrial Development Board.
ThilankaAbeywardena, CMO Lead – South East Asia New Markets, Microsoft Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd will be the Vice President – Projects, while, NuwanGamage, Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications, Arinma Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., will be holding the position Vice President- Education. ChinthakaPerera, Director Sales, Hemas Pharmaceuticals (Pvt) Ltd &Hemas Surgical and Diagnostics (Pvt) Ltd. and GayanPerera, Senior Brand Manager, Singer Sri Lanka PLC were appointed as the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary respectively. Dr. JayanthaDewasiri, Head of Field Force at HMD Global Inc is the Treasurer for the year 2020/2021.
The Establishment of SLIM Business School operations and paving the way for a Research Institute will be key initiatives for SLIM. We aim to reach greater heights in terms of broadening the horizons of the local marketing fraternity and contributing to the economic growth of the country through the Restart Sri Lanka national initiative.”
He further noted that the national campaign ‘Restart Sri Lanka’ initiated by SLIM under the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office, was geared to re-engineer and re-invent the businesses and SMEs to revive the country from the COVID-19 experience. “Our objectives are aligned with 5 pillars, which are Corporate and Public sector development, driving youth sector towards entrepreneurship through School Entrepreneurship Societies and Project RUN, creating a knowledge economy, SME and entrepreneurship development and building a marketing-oriented culture through the ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ concept and nation brand building. The new activities, strategic initiatives and events are planned for the year, particularly to support and restart the nation,” he added.
The new Executive Committee members: ManthikaRanasinghe - Head of Business Development (Global Shopping) at Kapruka.com, SathikaWickramasinghe - Category Manager Insights & Velocity at Fonterra Brands Lanka, Dr. Dilhan S. Jayatilleke - Head of Business Development & Marketing, Arogya Life Systems Lanka Private Limited and General Manager - Business Development, Marketing & Corporate Strategy, Softlidz Solutions Private Limited, CharakaPerera - Executive Director at Fuchsia Retail S.A. (Private) Limited, NuwanThilakawardhana - Manager Marketing at Union Bank, AsankaPerera - Chief Executive Officer at Arugambay Beachwear (Pvt) Ltd., Niyas Mohamed Shiraz - Assistant General Manager Sales & Marketing at Fentons Limited, Asela C. Gunasekara - Manager Brand Development at Metecno Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, ChannaJayasinghe - Senior Manager - Brand Development at Kelani Cables Plc and Dr. ThesaraJayawardane - Senior Lecturer and Director Business Research Unit at Faculty of Business, University of Moratuwa
