Rohantha at CIM Talking Point

One of Sri Lanka's top business professionals Rohantha Athukorala will be featured by the Chartered Institute of Marketing at the first CIM Talking Point on February 2 at 6 pm at Galle Face Hotel. The program is powered by HSBC.

Athukorala has a rare combination of over 15 years experience of working for the private and public sectors. In the private sector, he has worked in multinationals - Lever, Reckitt's and Johnsons in the areas of Brand Marketing, Demand Management and Sales Management and subsequently Country Management for Sri Lanka and Maldives winning twice the CIM Marketing Achiever Award when he was handling the Dettol Brand in Sri Lanka and thereafter a Business Achiever Award from PIM Alumni, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Global Business leadership Award from Johnson-Lever.

The Speaker has served the country as the seventh Chairman of Sri Lanka Export Development Board that revolutionized the export strategy of Sri Lanka and then appointed as the first Executive Director of the National Council For Economic Development (NCED) the key policy- making body of the country when the country achieved a 7.4% GDP growth.

In 2007, Athukorala shouldered the pivotal position of Directing Economic Affairs for the Government Peace Secretariat (SCOPP) under the Presidential Secretariat during the height of the ground operation against the LTTE where he was instrumental in driving private sector trade to the North East.

He was also instrumental in maintaining private sector business in the conflict effected North-East during this time and managing the logistics to the people of the Vanni when it was under LTTE command. Athukorala was part of a larger team that supported the country when it finally liberated from terrorism in 2009.

He now serves the International public sector - the United Nations Operations (UNOPS) as the National Portfolio Development Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives based in Sri Lanka whilst also serving the country on a honorary basis on key National economic growth committees of Sri Lanka, The Sri Lanka Tea Board, Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Industries whilst he was also appointed to the Presidential Committee on the development of the corporate Tea sector in Sri Lanka by the President in 2009.

He is a guest columnist to many national newspapers and global media whilst being invited to represent Sri Lanka as a speaker in many international and local conferences including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. Rohantha has a double degree in marketing and an MBA and is currently reading for a doctoral degree in Business Administration. He is a recipient of the GSE scholarship by Rotary International.