Madhu excels in Project Management

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

There are many who strive to make a difference by helping others to have a bright life. The untiring efforts by Dr. Madhu Fernando to introduce Project Management,

a subject that was not popular in Sri Lanka has paved a way to improve day to day life and help to work with ‘can do’ and ‘must win attitude’. She is the Chief Executive Officer and Director Innova Strategies, a company that trains key Sri Lankan organizations for growth and success. She is also a Director of Global Institute of Project Management. Madhu gives the best in her be it work or home related chores.

Shedding light and radiant wherever she goes is nothing new to Madhu and the role played by her has been recognized by the world body which is an achievement that Sri Lanka could be proud of. Her pioneering efforts have enabled positive outlook where the companies have benefited immensely.

She was interviewed by Daily News Business.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q. How do you describe your line of business?

A. Innova Strategies was set up in Melbourne Australia in 2002 and once I returned to Sri Lanka the operations moved here in 2005. Innova Strategies was formed to bringing in best practices to Sri Lanka where my academic back ground and work experience was put in to good use. Most of the company work is carried out through partnerships with the private sector. As Project Management is my pet subject and it is the main focus of the training, special emphasis is paid to popular this discipline in the country. I believe Project Management to be every thing and to play a dominant role in life. It is not industry specific where it is use in industries including aviation, IT, banking and finance, telecommunication, and civil engineering. The knowledge in Project Management helps in day to day life. Innova Strategies provides corporate training as well as training for the SME sector where over 90 percent of the companies are main clients that benefit from the knowledge transfer. Among them are John Keelles,MAS Group, Hemas Holdings, SriLankan Airlines, Johnson and Johnson, Orange Electrics, Sierra, Access Group, Commercial Bank and HSBC. The Project Management Institute USA sets up all global standards which are also followed by Sri Lanka.

Q. How do you strike a balance between family life and business?

A. My husband Dr. Arosh Fernando is the CEO of a large telecommunication infrastructure company and most of his time is devoted to work. Our three children

Senith Neathan, Siarra Neve and Sianna Nikol aged seven, five and three years. I have trained my children to be independent and they appreciate the understanding of Project Management. I mange the family affairs and what I learn and practice in Project Management is helping me to balance my work as well as commitments at home. I have very good close friends and ensure I have time for them too. Even though you have a perfect plan in life, some times you have to be flexible enough to adjust it as and when

required. You can not be perfect at any thing you do if you have to do them all at once. Prioritizing is very important, be at work or home. There needs to be a contingency or a back up plan to ensure both aspects are well managed. I make best use of the family support and additional help in carrying out my work.

Q. What motivated you to venture into business on your own?

A. The company was set up to share my knowledge and work experience. In a bid to achieve this stepping in to business world was important.

Q. What are your goals?

A. I consider happiness to be the driving force in life. I like to be happy and stay happy at work and home as happiness is important. For this I ensure all my professional goals are met and my family needs are also taken good care of. My professional goals are to build Innova Strategies as an indispensable organization for the success and growth of Sri Lankan organizations where all projects are well managed and deliver the expected outcome and value to the organization.

In a personal note I would like to see my children grown up as well managed, well mannered, well educated and become good citizens in this country.

Q. How do you face the challenges of competition?

A. I believe competition is important in reaching goals. It helps us perform better and to continuously improve our processes and businesses. I have trained more than 10 trainers in Sri Lanka sharing all my knowledge encouraging them to start their own businesses.

This is a competitive task and I am happy today as global standards of Project Management are translated to our people.

I also believe by clustering we could make a difference in the country.

Q. What is your specialty?

A. The Innova Strategies was launched to make difference in the society. The Project Management Institute functions with the main objective of introducing Project Management to school leavers and the younger generation who intend to gain knowledge on the subject. This is some thing new, but in practice very necessary to lead a successful life. The Institute strives to make the change that is the key to progressive forward march.

Q. What are your achievements in family life and business?

A. I initiated Project Management Institute Colombo as the Sri Lanka Chapter in 2002 to bringing in global standards in Project Management to Sri Lanka. The Project Management Institute in USA recognized my efforts in 2006 as one of the 25 influential women in Project Management in the world. The Project Management Institute also profiled me in their Career Centre as one of the 5 successful women in Project Management. These are mile stones in my journey and it is heartening to note that my work has contributed for the betterment of the country.

Q. What is your message to society?

A. Enjoy whatever you do. Learn something new every day and share with others. Make whatever contribution you can make to the society in making things better for others. Our contribution will be the base for a prosperous tomorrow.

[email protected]