Balanced and high-powered

Dr. Madhu Fernando - One of the world’s 25 most influential women project managers unfolds her success story

Nilma Dole

When you think of meeting one of the world’s best woman project managers, you immediately think of an upwardly mobile, high-powered woman who will keep a brick face throughout the entire conversation. So I was pleasantly surprised to meet a vivacious, charismatic and friendly woman who has a bubbly sense of humour.

Madhu Fernando

Positive thinking and a well-balanced life led her to the helm to become one of the most influential women in her field, Dr. Madhu Fernando believes. She is rated one of the world’s 25 most influential women project managers by Project Management Institute, Australia, earning fame for the country.

Hailing from the town of Nawagamuwa in Kaduwela, Madhu attended Visakha Vidyala, Colombo. “During my school days, I enjoyed reading about various subjects and wrote to several children’s publications. I was only six years when my first essay was published in Sukiri ,a children’s newspaper. I received the Lama Shilpi prize from Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation for working there as a relief announcer.”

She met her husband Arosha Fernando there. After some objections from his parents, Madhu received their blessings for the marriage.

“My parents were very understanding,” she said. Her mother is a qualified doctor in Ayurvedic medicine who had realized the value of education.

“I had a dream to go abroad and I had to make the decision of changing my Advanced Level study from Science to Commerce six months before the exam because my husband was doing it as well in a bid to go abroad and do further studies in Business”.

Fortunately, Madhu’s will power and self-determination took her to clinch startling results at the exam. Finally, she reached her dream and went to Australia to study at the RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) via an alternative path where she did her Diploma in Business and thereafter qualified with a Graduate Diploma in Business (Australia). In 1996, Madhu and her husband obtained their Masters of Engineering degree (specialized in Telecommunications) from RMIT University, Australia.

“In 1997, I was recruited by a leading telecommunications company in Australia as a Management Trainee” she reminisced. In a span of just a year, her hard work earned her the role of Project Manager for high-profile projects for five years, including being in charge of the Y2K Project for the Asia-Pacific Region and to handle Business Contingency and Continuity Planning.

“I came to Sri Lanka after 10 years and followed a one-year stint at a telecommunications company as Project Director / Head of the Project Management Office (PMO). When asked how she managed to be a family and a career woman, she said, “It’s difficult but as a woman, you shouldn’t give up. If you balance your work life and personal life, anything is possible. It is always good and beneficial to do on your own without depending on others.”

“Women are better at handling multiple tasks because they have to do plenty of things from housework to earning for the family.”

Madhu is a member of Project Management Institute (PMI), and the past President / CEO of Project Management Institute, Colombo - Sri Lanka Chapter. She is a PMI certified Project Management Professional (PMP), an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and she conducts PMP training programs at Singapore Informatics Professional Development Centre.

The pinnacle of her academic career came when she graduated with her Doctorates in Business Administration (DBA) cum laude from the Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia with her husband. It was the first time in the academic history that a couple graduated with their doctorates simultaneously and this was highlighted and sanctioned by the scholars in Australia as a rare occasion.

“It’s not impossible to reach your dreams and I’m lucky to have an understanding husband who gives me support and backing making sure that I reach professional goals,” she said. Amidst all her career responsibilities Madhu looks after her family responsibilities without a fail.

“Being a woman is no obstacle and you can achieve better if you believe in yourself. My advice is that you shouldn’t give up, no matter how difficult life is but work on your dreams,” she remarked. Today, Madhu has her own company which got the first acclaimed Sri Lankan registration of a PMI approved company.

A fun-loving person, Madhu keeps special time for her family during weekends making sure they travel to a nice destination to unwind and relax. Madhu is the mother of two with expecting the third.