Reminiscences

SK creates niche in corporate world

Ravi LADDUWAHETTY

To have been born as the eldest son of Sri Lanka's much revered and internationally acclaimed author Martin Wickremasinghe was not the lone claim- to- fame for corporate leader Sarath Kusum Wickremasinghe.

After all, he created his own niche in the corporate sector where he was Chairman/ Chief Executive of no less than five top blue chip listed corporates and the national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines while also ending up as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

The listed blue chips he headed were Chemical Industries Colombo PLC, Commercial Bank PLC, Ceylon Tobacco Co. PLC, Eagle Insurance PLC and National Development Bank PLC.

One of the highlights of his professional career was that he was also the longest serving Chairman of any global subsidiary of the then Fortune 500 listed Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), a career spanning a record 29 years.

Having had his primary and secondary education at S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia and armed with a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of Colombo, SK joined the ICI Colombo office as a Commercial Executive in 1951.

S. K. Wickremasinghe enjoying his evening tea at his residence. Picture by Saliya Rupasinghe

His steadfast commitment saw him being promoted as Chairman/ CEO in 1966 a post he held for the next 28 years until he was appointed as High Commissioner to the UK, probably making him the longest serving ICI subsidiary Chairman of all time in any part of the world.

Physics was his passion and in addition to the numerous prizes he carried away in school, was the Framjee Khan Prize for the best Science student in his first year at the University which he was jointly awarded with a student who specialised in Mathematics.

ICI Colombo was a global brand leader supplying industrial raw materials for local manufacturers of which there were very few at that time where almost everything was imported, Wickremasinghe told Daily News Reminiscences at his Classen Place residence.

Some of the local corporates that ICI was supplying chemicals were Unilever for their soap operations, Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills for the textile dyes and sodium carbonate for Ceylon Glass. Later there was an expansion into manufacture of consumer products such as baby powder and tooth brushes as ICI were the local agents for another multinational-Johnson and Johnson, The company's operations expanded tremendously with Sri Lanka's industrial development and the new product portfolios were agro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals plastics, dyes and explosives among a host of others. ICI at that time was one of the top five multinationals in the world for these product ranges.

However, it was with the decision of the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government of 1960-1965 decided that all multinational companies had to float local companies to continue imports ICI was instrumental in setting up Chemical Industries Colombo Ltd (later PLC) in which ICI had 49% and the remainder held by the local public. Internal Trade Minister T.B. Ilangaratane allowed only locally registered companies to have import licenses.

Wickremasinghe served as both Chairman/ CEO of CIC till 1980 after which he retired as CEO to be succeeded by Chris De Saram. ICI had insisted that he remain as Chairman which he did till 1995.

He was also Chairman of Ceylon Tobacco Co. PLC, for his was the first Sri Lankan Non Executive Chairman though Stanley Wanigasekera was the first Sri Lankan Executive Chairman.

Subsequent Chairmen- Lt General Dennis Perera, Ken Balendra and incumbent Jayampathi Bandaranayake were also appointed as non executives. Similarly to Ceylon Tobacco Co PLC where he was appointed Director first and subsequently Chairman, history repeated itself with grisly accuracy for SK of the Commercial Bank too being promoted from Director to Chairman.

It was at that time that the Standard Chartered Bank held a stake of 40 per cent at Commercial Bank which was later divested to both DFCC Bank and another minor stake to business tycoon Harry Jayawardena.

Wickremasinghe also recalled the backdrop which led to Ceylon Tobacco forming CTC Eagle Insurance amidst stiff resistance from the then players in the local market, which did not want a foreign backed player in the local insurance arena.

"We thought that CTC should have been given an opportunity since its parent company - British American Tobacco Company PLC was a major international player in the international insurance field having earlier acquired an American multinational insurance company, he explained.

Some of the local partners in the CTC-led consortium included the National Development Bank.

It was also on returning to Sri Lanka having relinquished duties as Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom that he was appointed as the Chairman of the national carrier SriLankan Airlines which was at a decisive moment in the airline's history. That was the time when the 40 per cent of the equity was sold to Emirates and the Management contract was also handed over. The Management contract was signed in April 1999 and he was appointed Chairman in June 1999. "Emirates, the Dubai based airline was run by expatriates and we did not have any heavy involvements with the national carrier. The airline had contracted to purchase nine Airbus aircraft prior to selling of the shares to Emirates. With Emirates partnering SriLankan, we decided that six were sufficient and we handed over the remaining three to the Dubai based strategic partner. What we took delivery of was the six A 330s, he said.

One of the other top corporate appointments that he enjoyed after rerunning to Colombo was as Chairman of the National Development Bank. It was during his stint as the Chairman that the NDB oversaw another important milestone from a development bank to a universal bank which also undertook commercial banking activities.

Wickremasinghe will also be remembered for forming Chemanex PLC, Sri Lanka's first people's company. It was following Finance Minister Felix Dias Bandaranaike's decision to encourage the formation of people's companies in the mid 1960s where no Director or shareholder could own more than 5 per cent of the shares.

He also became Chemanex Chairman by virtue of the fact that he was CIC Chairman and preference was given to CIC shareholders for the purchase of Chemanex shares.

Now, in full retirement at 80, Wickremesinghe serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Martin Wickremasinghe Trust which also manages the Folk Art Museum named in the memory of his father. Over a one and a quarter million visitors have savoured the rich exhibits of the Museum since it was opened in 1982, he said.