At the heart of each brand lies a compelling vision. A vision that inculcates the intentions, values and principles that a brand stands for. Creating this vision was far easier than the challenge of effectively communicating it to each respective brand audience and the individuals responsible for driving the brands forward. It can be quite challenging to inspire them to share and want be a part of the same vision. Finding common ground is crucial. When we started Slimline our aim was to build a successful business. However, our intentions also entwined with the genuine welfare of our people and it is through such common ground that I was able to contribute towards creating a shared vision and a culture of excellence, which is critical to the success of any brand, cause or initiative.

In the case of Sri Lanka Boxing, it was about uniting people through sports and brining pride to our motherland, whilst Gandhara Street was about reviving the artisan within, for myself and many others who chose art and lifestyle to be their form of expression.

When employees and stakeholders understand how the values held by an organization or an institution can help strengthen the growth and development of themselves and their communities, they naturally place their trust in the organization and its leadership, those who make a ‘positive difference’ in their lives. All I wanted was to redefine a promising future for rural men and women of Sri Lanka, and I’m grateful for having been able to help them harness their fullest potential, and realize the immense possibilities that lay before them, through these initiatives.

My family and alma mater, Royal College Colombo, moulded and prepared me to be who I am today. My father passed away when I was young, and my mother taught me the lesson of perseverance in life.

As a Royalist, I learnt the greatest lesson that a school can teach, to stand for what I believed in, to stand for what is right. College was where I was taught to fight my own battles, and learn from my own mistakes. I understood to accept a loss the same way as a victory, for at the end of the day, what mattered more that winning or losing was how you played the game. I may not have learnt much of ‘books and men’ but I most certainly did ‘learn to play the game!’ Royal College instilled in me a strong foundation in values, and a firm grounding in life.

My wife and my two daughters have been the cornerstone of my success. Dehara, a successful businesswoman in her own right, has played the role of friend, confidant, wife and mother admirably whilst both my daughters have made me proud, bringing triumph to Sri Lanka by representing their motherland in aquatics whilst continuing their studies, receiving National Sporting Honours for their achievements.

I commenced my career at KPMG Ford Rhodes under Mr. Ranjan Seevaratnam, a father-figure and a true gentleman who I greatly respect to this day. Later on, I joined Saracen Interiors International as the Financial Controller at the age of 22, and was subsequently promoted to Finance Director of the organization.

At age 29, I joined the Fortune 500 listed May Corporation as the youngest General Manager of their global operations and took on the responsibility of managing their interests in Sri Lanka.

It was in 1990 that I joined MAS Holdings as the Finance Director of Shadowline, and moved on to head Slimline in 1992. Slimline was a pioneering manufacturing facility created by a joint venture between MAST Industries and Courtaulds PLC; in Pannala. It presented to me a vision and an opportunity to alter the landscape of an entire industry, to engage with people and change the lives of an entire community for the better.

I believe that a person should never stop learning. My persona is such that I look for continuous ways to learn more, experience more, and do more. One of the ways through which I achieve this by hiring people who are better than me at what they do. My belief is that this is the only sustainable way by which any organization can move forward; where people are given the opportunity to constantly learn, grow and enhance their competencies, knowledge and skill base . I believe that true leadership requires no title and encourage my subordinates to challenge me every day, pushing them to reach beyond their limits. I am unafraid to admit to any mistakes and instead try to learn from them. I always keep to my word. People tend to relate to these attributes and consider me to be someone who ‘walks the talk’, a key leadership trait, especially in the face of organizational diversity.

It is an amalgamation of several characteristics that produce a great leader; it has to be someone that others look up to, for inspiration and guidance through action, yet who is unafraid to challenge the accepted norms and conventions. Leaders enable others to act, understanding and encouraging them to reach their fullest potential, while at the same time never taking their eyes off the ultimate objective. Leaders create the way which others follow.

Sri Lanka has always differentiated itself from other regional markets such as China and Bangladesh as a quality apparel manufacturing hub. Globally, we have proven to be the chosen vendor of internationally renowned brands due to our high standards in employee wellbeing, health and safety apart from setting globally acclaimed benchmarks in ethical manufacturing. Sri Lanka already held a well-established position in the global apparel industry, even through three decades of conflict.

In this present post-conflict era, we have been given an opportunity to reach beyond our limited resources, and we can now evolve with the global apparel industry as a united nation, competitive and passionate in spirit. We can optimize the utilization of new technologies, innovations and offer our clients the most state-of-the-art processes and practices to enhance their products. It is a future with many opportunities for the Sri Lankan apparel sector to explore.

Ours is an organization that is built on moral values such as trust and understanding, and what better way to strengthen such characteristics than through the people and the communities in which we operate. MAS initiatives such as Women Go Beyond – our very own pioneering empowerment programme for women, Eco-Go-Beyond, a sustainable development education program activated at school level, and Light of Change – a programme that offers rural youth better prospects at employment, are a few of the CSR initiatives carried out by MAS as part of what we feel is our responsibility towards our people.

The work we have done in towns such as Pannala, the founding ground of Slimline, has seen accelerated development and improved quality of life, earning strong loyalty. We also became the biggest private donor to Sri Lanka’s health infrastructure by donating equipment and facilities worth Rs. 100 million to the National Cancer Institute. We also wholeheartedly supported an initiative brought forward by the Colours of Courage Trust, Trail, a journey on foot that spread through 30 days and over 650km to raise USD 2 million for a Paediatric Cancer Ward in the northern region of the country.

Our investments in education and community health infrastructure benefits the employees, as well as their families, Their ability to support and participate in the development of their own village/town enables us to share in their element of pride. People run our businesses and to strengthen our people is to strengthen our business. We strive for a better tomorrow, for us all.

I was an avid boxer, and represented Royal College in boxing during the early seventies. I became Sri Lanka’s Junior National Fly Weight Champion in 1975, and was also Sri Lanka’s youngest boxing judge at the age of 20.

Boxing and sports as a whole taught me some of the most valuable lessons in life. Understanding the importance of accepting defeat, learning how to rise up from it and to always fight with all you’ve got for what’s right. I was a member of the AIBA Marketing Commission and the AIBA Finance Commission, an am also a member of the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Athletes and Youth Commission and the Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka at present, posts through which I try to communicate to the younger generation of athletes produced by Sri Lanka that impossible is nothing. I realize that through my experiences, there is so much that I can give back to the talent of today, the next generation of Sri Lankan sports personalities.

Balance in life is something that I have always strived to achieve, and amidst my chaotic and demanding role as a corporate CEO, I wished to focus my energy towards my own creative outlet. Gandhara is not only a realization of my personal passion for art, but is also in part, a result of my search for balance in life.

I believe every individual has their own sense of creativity buried within them, and in order to achieve the best in their lives, both professionally and personally, they should always aim for balance in life, and the key to this is to explore your own sense of creativity, which at the end of the day, is each individual’s prerogative.

It was certainly a humbling experience to be honoured with the prestigious State Literary Award (Non-fiction) in 2003 for my first attempt at published literature. However, regrettably my time does not permit me to focus on writing another manuscript at present, but I would not banish the idea completely.

I have been asked on numerous occasions as to when my tell-all autobiography will come out. Only time will tell!

To the adolescent mind, the world is their oyster. You want to unleash your own potential, and become the best at what you do with recognition being a key driver. However, as you mature, you realize that the honour you’ve achieved, the accolades you’ve won are materialistic. You just want to be a person who was able to make a positive impact in the life of at least one individual. This is what I too wish to be remembered as; a person who genuinely wanted the best for my people, and tried, in whichever way I could to contribute to the growth of my country. A person who initiated a change for the better.