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February 11, 2021

Winners of the ‘Brand of the Year’ award for the 8th time and the only brand to have won the coveted award for 4 consecutive years–

Munchee, the flagship brand of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL) clinched the coveted ‘Brand of the Year’ title at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2020.

‘Brand of the Year’ was among 5 awards claimed by Munchee in an impressive sweep which included ‘Local Brand of the year’ – Gold, ‘Export Brand of the Year’ – Gold, ‘Best New Entrant Brand of the Year’ – Gold for Munchee Choc Shock and ‘Product Brand of the year – Silver’.

This was the 8th consecutive time that Munchee has won the ‘Brand of the Year’ award and is the only brand to win this coveted award for 4 consecutive years in the 19-year history of SLIM Brand Excellence Awards.

Commenting on the win, Janmesh Paul Anthony – General Manager Marketing at Ceylon Biscuits Ltd said: “This is a testament to the trust that our consumers have in us and the commitment and passion of the CBL Family to achieve our purpose of creating enriching moments of happiness across Sri Lanka. Each one of us at CBL is truly invested in delivering the best quality products and purpose driven growth for Sri Lanka through every biscuit we make, so we are truly grateful to our consumers who make the extraordinary Munchee journey a possibility.”

“Munchee continuously evolves its product offering through innovative recipes and technology to meet consumer needs and wants.” says Janmesh, adding that this consumer-centric approach has been a key factor in the Munchee brand’s growing demand in Sri Lanka and in over 60 countries across the world.

CBL Group brands Munchee, Ritzbury and Samaposha won a total of 11 awards at SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2020 held at the BMICH, recently. Over 100 brands were evaluated under 14 categories to recognize high performing brands. Each entry was subjected to a stringent evaluation process, where all aspects of the brand were thoroughly evaluated. The brands that emerge as top scorers of the six main categories and the special categories were further subjected to evaluation by an esteemed panel of judges who declare Gold, Silver and Bronze winners and the esteemed ‘Brand of the Year.’

October 15, 2020

The increasing need for accountants including mid-level accounting professionals to cultivate their communication and public speaking skills was highlighted recently at the 7th Installation Ceremony of the CBA Toastmasters Club of CA Sri Lanka.

Chief guest at the installation ceremony, Mr. Manil Jayesinghe, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), elaborated that while technical skills are a fundamental requirement of an accounting professional, communication is also an equally mandatory skill for accountants.

Speech — CA Sri Lanka President Mr. Manil Jayesinghe delivering his speech

“If you are to be successful, and if you are to lead your corporate and country to success, you must be willing to be a future ready professional who possess the ability to play multiple roles from interpreting numbers, to providing insight and being actively involved in decision-making and communicating your decisions effectively,” he told the gathering comprising of Certified Business Accountants (CBAs).

Mr. Jayesinghe said that CBAs who are mid-level accountants are important for any organisation, as they help businesses maintain high standards with their technical expertise. “It is also very encouraging to note that there is an increasing demand by SMEs for mid-level accountants such as CBAs produced by CA Sri Lanka,” he added.

The CBA Faculty of CA Sri Lanka has been continuously engaging in developing the soft skills of CBA members to enhance the role they play amidst a challenging work environment. The CBA Toastmasters Club was initiated to facilitate CBAs to develop their communication and leadership skills with an internationally tested, proven and recognised development programme of Toastmasters International.

The guest of honour at the installation ceremony was DTM Noorul Munawara, District Director, while Mr. Saman Sirilal, Council Member and Chairman of the Education & Curriculum Development Committee of CA Sri Lanka and Ms. Dulani Fernando, Chief Executive Officer of CA Sri Lanka were the special invitees.

Presenting a Token — CA Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Ms. Dulani Fernando presenting a token to the Guest of Honour Ms. Noorul Munawara, District Director

The following officers were appointed to the Executive Committee of the CBA Toastmasters Club for 2020/2021:

TM Ranjith Premathilaka, President
TM Nayana Dharmaratne, Vice President – Education
TM Sarath Kumara, Vice President – Membership
TM Sahan Srimali Somarathne, Vice President – Public Relations
TM Sandun Mendis, Secretary
TM M.C.D. Nuwan Nishantha, Treasurer
TM Amani Jayasinghe, Sergeant at Arms

September 14, 2018

November 27, 2017

Colombo, November 24, 2017: After the successful launch of the Renault brand in Sri Lanka led by the Attractive, Innovative and Affordable Renault KWID, in partnership with Associated Motorways Private Limited (AMW), there is another important milestone that will excite both automotive and cricket enthusiasts – the signing of the global cricketing superstar, Kumar Sangakkara as the brand ambassador in Sri Lanka. The association marks the union of two iconic brands that are synonymous with passion and innovation, have universal appeal and boast of an illustrious and successful lineage.

Sri Lanka is a very important market for Renault and is progressing towards a new and dynamic phase of growth. This association will leverage the versatility and legacy of both Renault and Kumar Sangakkara, as he represents the underlying brand ideology of Renault: ‘Passion for Life’. This promise embodies what Renault does best – building cars that are designed around peoples’ lives, with a passion of making them desirable and attractive.

Commenting on the announcement in Sri Lanka, Mr. Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Groupe Renault, Indian Subcontinent Operations, said, “In a short span of time Renault has made quick progress in Sri Lanka and we are grateful to our customers for the phenomenal response to Renault KWID. It gives me immense pleasure to announce Kumar Sangakkara as our brand ambassador and his attributes as a champion and leader is the perfect blend to bolster our plans for a long-term successful innings in Sri Lanka.”

The partnership is also timed with Renault’s next phase of growth in Sri Lanka, as they look to significantly increase their presence across the country, as well as to aggressively expand their island-wide dealership footprint. Renault has recently expanded its network to 6 showrooms and 21 service centres across the country. The mass appeal of Kumar Sangakkara will definitely resonate and have a positive impact on taking Renault KWID to newer and emerging cities across Sri Lanka.

Mr. Kumar Sangakkara, sharing his views said, “Renault is an iconic and inspirational brand the world over. I am happy to be associated with a brand that is young, vibrant and has quickly established itself in Sri Lanka as an exciting new addition to our roads. I look forward to representing Renault and partnering its fascinating growth journey in the county.”

Mr. Samantha Rajapaksa, Managing Director, Associated Motorways Private Limited, added “We are delighted to welcome Kumar Sangakkara to the Renault family and this partnership is testament to the ambitious plans to grow the Renault brand across the country. Both Renault and Sangakkara are globally renowned and we have a lot of exciting customer-centric initiatives to further build on this positive momentum.”

Celebrating this milestone association, Renault launched the ‘Kwid Live for More’ edition. The ‘Kwid Live for More’ comes equipped with unique and urbane elements, which further enhances the lifestyle quotient of the Renault KWID.

The ‘Kwid Live for More’ edition will complement the Renault KWID range which has been widely appreciated for its attractive styling coupled with an SUV like stance thanks to the increased ground clearance. The cabin of the car comes with modern and intuitive interiors that include a well-equipped dashboard with a spacious cabin and smart upholstery. On the feature front, it comes with a segment-first 7-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth technology along with other add-ons.

Renault has partnered with Associated Motorways Private Limited (AMW) in Sri Lanka. For over 67 years, AMW has consistently grown to become the preeminent group in the automotive industry, offering world-class automotive brands in Sri Lanka, as well as associated products. In the wake of this venture, AMW, has reinforced its long tradition of delivering performance and value to its customers, being the number one automotive company in Sri Lanka.

AMW with their innovative campaigns and brand strategies, will continue to maintain their leadership position in the market and be a change maker for the automotive industry in the country, through the introduction of a range of exciting next-generation brands for its customers.

November 27, 2017

Ms Hansani Wijekoon – Director, Mr Sriyananda Wijekoon – Chairman, Mr Chanuka Wijekoon – MD of the Golden Crown Hotel, HE The President, Mr Sarath Ekanayake – Chief Minister Central Province, Mr Roshan Fernando – GM – Golden Crown Hotel , standing for the National Anthem

November 26, 2017

John Keells Holdings PLC announced the six winners of its second John Keells X Open Innovation Challenge at a Pitch Day recently. The winners advance to the JKX six month Accelerator Programme, which will allow them to tap into a wealth of JKH resources including seed funding, office space, access to support services such as legal, secretarial and finance, mentoring from the industry’s best and brightest, curated curriculum and the chance to pitch for and secure further funding for their business idea.

John Keells X was first launched in 2016 to boost creative and intellectual business talent in Sri Lanka via a competitive programme conceptualized and administered by John Keells Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier listed conglomerate.

The competition was conceptualized to encourage innovators with imagination and strong design ethics to take the next step in making a pipeline idea a reality. This year’s challenge has evolved into a fully-fledged accelerator programme that includes an entrepreneurship and growth hacking curriculum delivered by international trainers. In September a workshop on Disciplined Entrepreneurship was spearheaded by Marius Ursache (Teaching Fellow, MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp). In November, Growth Tribe, Europe’s first growth hacking academy will conduct another training session. The JKH Legal and Secretarial division delivered a workshop on the important legal aspects of running a business while the Corporate Finance and Strategy division delivered a workshop on valuation of start-ups and tracking of key financial metrics in a business. This intensive course of expert workshops for the 20 shortlisted teams was complemented by sessions known as JKX Meetups, where the teams gained valuable insights and interacted with senior level leaders from JKH.

The teams have pitched and developed their ideas from a wide variety of sectors including leisure, travel, retail, financial technology, logistics, IT solutions including IOT (the Internet of Things) applications. “We are very pleased with the diversity of ideas and business models here,” noted Wishanth Wijesinha, Head of JKX. “The teams have developed their ideas since they were initially shortlisted, and we have chosen the most promising six teams to enter the 6-month accelerator programme.”

The panel of judges for this year comprised of Ajit Gunewardene (Deputy Chairman – JKH), Ronnie Peiris (Group Finance Director – JKH), Krishan Balendra (Executive Director – JKH), Gihan Cooray (Executive Director – JKH), Ramesh Shanmuganathan (Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer – JKH), Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya (Regional CEO – Axiata Group South Asia/Non-Executive Director – JKH) and Jonathan Alles (Managing Director/CEO – Hatton National Bank PLC).

The six winners are (in no particular order);

Direct Pay – Electronic/Mobile payment solution for onsite/online financial transactions
lk – e-commerce platform dedicated for automotive products and services
Helios – A peer to peer lending platform leveraging on blockchain technology
iLoan – Borrower driven online loan aggregator and powering engine
lk – A simple, efficient and interactive learning platform
Senzagro – First IoT/Sensor based precision agriculture solution in Sri Lanka

They will have the opportunity to interact with JKH companies and senior level leadership mentors, along with opportunities for further investment during or after the accelerator programme. “I’m looking forward to seeing these teams progress over the next six months,” says JKH Executive Director, Krishan Balendra. “My door is always open to them, as are my colleagues’. We strongly believe that the private sector can play a very important role in improving the scope for innovation and entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. This is us playing our part, and we’re confident that this cycle and the ones to follow will produce some star teams and ventures.”

November 25, 2017

STAX-PHOTO-02-Dr.-Kumudu-Gunasekera-Director-Stax-Inc.-lighting-the-traditional-oil-lamp.jpg

Colombo. Tuesday 21^st November 2017. STAX, Sri Lanka’s leading strategy consulting firm, recently moved into a new office within the heart of the Central Business District (CBD) in Colombo. Headquartered in Boston, STAX also has offices across Chicago, New York and Singapore, with Colombo serving as the base of its APAC operations. STAX, which had outgrown its previous premises, relocated its office to be closer to clients, while being able to comfortably accommodate its 70+ workforce and facilitate its future growth plans.

Situated at 278/4, Access Towers II – 15^th Floor, Union Place, Colombo 02, the plush new office is a spacious work space of 6,000 square feet. Built with the intention of providing an expansive domain that encourages innovative and collaborative thinking, the new space includes ample meeting rooms. The office also features specially designed booths equipped with state-of-the-art communication tools to support in-depth primary research across the globe.

Since commencing operations in 2005 with just 07 employees, STAX Colombo has worked on multiple engagements internationally while serving numerous Sri Lankan clients— including diversified conglomerates, blue-chip industry leaders, and large family businesses. STAX utilises a mixture of proven and innovative approaches to consulting, and has gained a reputation among the local business community for inspiring companies to reach audacious goals and to complement gut-based decisions with fact-based research. “The new location is in keeping with our ethos of dreaming big and offering the best services to our valuable clients from varied walks of life and industries,” said Avinash Hettiarachchi, a Senior Business Analyst at STAX.

The local operation is backed by the stability of its global company, which has been in business for over two decades. STAX works with 15 of the Top 20 Global Private Equity firms and 25+ Fortune 500 companies. Since its inception in Boston, it has gradually gained ground in other areas of the globe by delivering over 2,500 client engagements, across diverse industries, covering more than 40 international markets. STAX possesses extensive capabilities across research, consulting, consumer insights, data analytics, and data visualisation— enabling greater value creation for clients.

In an ever evolving world where change is the only constant and companies run the risk of stagnation, STAX plays a pivotal role in supporting clients to exploit new opportunities and guard against global threats – this has led STAX to expand rapidly and build a name as the dominant strategy consulting firm in the country.

November 25, 2017

A Sri Lankan won the Grand Prize at the world’s preeminent nature photography competition.

Lakshitha Karunarathna’s photo of a pride of huddling African lionesses was the Grand Prize winner of the 2017 Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice Awards held in Washington D.C. on Thursday, November 16. Karunarathna accepted the award at a gala event at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. This is the first time in the competition’s two-decade-long history a photographer from Sri Lanka has taken home the award.

The Grand Prize winner was picked from 26,000 entries from the world over. The winning image was captured while Karunarathna was on a photography tour in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. Karunarathna said the picture was taken in the blink of an eye, and when later he checked the camera’s viewfinder he instinctively knew it was a very special photograph.

A past pupil of Ananda College, Colombo and a tea-taster by trade, Karunarathna’s passion for photographing nature has already won him many international accolades. He says he picked up photography as a hobby three years ago. The visual essayist has visited many countries, from Sri Lanka’s wildlife parks to the Polar Regions and everywhere in between.

Priyanga Wickramasinghe, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C. who presented the citation and award to Karunarathne noted the photographer’s extraordinary achievement in winning the Grand Prize and said how his Sri Lankan roots would have influenced his approach to wildlife conservation through his photography. She also commended him for bringing honour to Sri Lanka and shining a spotlight on the country’s talented young photographers.

A remarkable large print of Lakshitha Karunarathna’s winning entry is on display until September 2018 at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.

Launched in 1996, the Nature’s Best Photography Awards is an endowed exhibition program run in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, one of the most-visited museums in the world.

More of Lakshitha Karunarathna’s work can be seen here: www.lakshithak.com, www.instagram.com/lakshithak/

Competition page: Nature’s Best Photography site

November 24, 2017

(L-R) Director of Global Business at KRX Mr. Taehyun Noh, MD & CIO of Global Business at KRX Mr. Doyeon Kim, President & CEO at KRX Mr. Sangwan Ahn, KRX Chairman Mr. Jiwon Jung, CSE Chairman Mr. Ray Abeywardena, SL Ambassador to South Korea H.E. Ms. Manisha Gunasekara, CSE CEO Mr. Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CSE Head of Finance and Administration Mr. Kusal Nissanka, CSE Head of Strategy Ms. Nilma Samarasinghe

November 24, 2017

Jan Kunigk_Marketing and Sales Director_Executive Vice President of INSEE Cement

Older Posts

Munchee Crowned as Brand of the Year Once Again at SLIM Brand Excellence 2020

Cultivating communication skills among accountants highlighted at CA Sri Lanka’s CBA Toastmasters Club 7th installation

British School Of Commerce to Offer Foundation & Advanced Diploma Programmes

Kumar Sangakkara Signed As The Brand Ambassador For Renault

President declares open the ‘Jewel in Kandy’s Crown – The Golden Crown Hotel

John Keells X Open Innovation Challenge winners enter 6 month accelerator programme

STAX relocates to Access II

A Sri Lankan’s Photograph of African Lionesses Captivates The World

CSE and Korea Exchange agree to pursue mutual development

INSEE Cement launches a unique competition for builders