At a special ceremony held in Colombo recently, MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka’s Harendra Uyanage, Senior Vice President & Executive Creative Director, was named the first-ever recipient of the Next Generation Leader scholarship.
For the first time in ad industry history, Metal Factor, as the organising body, initiated a scholarship to honour the late ad stalwart Yong Lye Peng, to be extended to a next-generation leader of the industry from any field in the business to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2025.
The recipient of Metal Factor’s Next Generation Leader Scholarship was selected through a careful adjudication process led by a distinguished panel comprising Ranil de Silva – Founder, Metal Factor, Gian de Rose – Director, Brand and Communications, Sysco LABS, Chevaan Daniel, Group Director, Capital Maharaja Group, Renuka Marshall – Managing Director, TBWA\ Sri Lanka, and Janmesh Paul Antony – Director, Marketing, Singer Sri Lanka PLC.
The primary purpose of this scholarship is to provide future industry leaders exposure to the global industry and to bring back the learning and play a leading role to drive the industry in Sri Lanka forward. The attendee will have full access to all activities, workshops and courtesies, mentoring programs, and other such learning initiatives.
“My heartfelt congratulations to Harendra of MullenLowe on being selected as the first-ever Next Gen Leader to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. This scholarship was created to give emerging creative leaders the chance to experience global standards firsthand, something I believe is essential if Sri Lanka is to make its mark internationally. I trust Harendra will return inspired, ready to push boundaries and strive for a Golden Lion while contributing meaningfully to the growth of Sri Lanka’s creative industry. My sincere thanks to Mr. Douglas Khoo for establishing the fund that made this possible, in memory of his late wife and my dear friend, Yong Lye Peng,” said Ranil de Silva, Founding Partner of Metal Factor.
Thayalan Bartlett, Executive Chairman – MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka said, “Harendra is Sri Lanka’s most talented and one of the most awarded Creative Leaders of our time. He has contributed immensely to MullenLowe’s undisputed creative standing in the local industry and has been an inspiration to youngsters for his work ethic, creativity, professionalism and integrity, I am both delighted and excited for him for having been selected by Metal Factor’s – Next-Generation Leader Program as its first scholarship recipient.”
MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka (MLG) is a full member affiliate of MullenLowe Global, and an integrated marketing solutions company delivering expertise through 8 independent strategic business verticals. MLG is one of 69 offices in 55 countries, with 4,500 employees around the world and 110+ in Sri Lanka. The company has a roster of 43 of Sri Lanka’s top corporates and handles 111 brands across 33 categories, including 80% of the top 10 and 50% of the top 20 most-advertised categories in the country.
