Nadi Dharmasiri heads CIM

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Sri Lanka Region has announced the election of members to its' Board and Management Committee for 2013 at the 17th Annual General Meeting that took place on 13th December 2012 at The Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo. Nadi Dharmasiri (Deputy General Manager Brand Marketing, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC) was appointed as the new Chairperson whilst Dr. Rohan M. Fernando (Director, Head of Business Development and Plantation, Aitken Spence PLC) will continue as Honorary President of the Institute.

The Honorary President chaired the Annual General Meeting and invited the outgoing Chairperson, Chitrangani Herat Guneratne to present the Annual Review of activities for the year 2012. Chitrangani highlighted the key initiatives implemented by the Institute during the year and shared its progresses. Making her inaugural speech as the new Chairperson, Nadi introduced the new members to the Board and Management Committee and said she is delighted to have a very strong team who will drive forward the objectives of the Institute. She also thanked the outgoing Chairperson, Chitrangani Herat Guneratne for her selfless dedication and contribution to the Institute's growth and called upon CIM members to take an active role in the Institute's activities in the coming year. Unfolding the strategy for 2013, Nadi Dharmasiri presented the objectives and activities planned and said: "the members who are appointed to represent the membership have solid expertise in various fields of activities. We are confident that the new Regional Board and Management Committee members will contribute fresh perspectives and approaches to uplift the most sought after professional marketing education qualification and its related activities."

The new Regional Board and Management Committee intend to focus on five key areas during the coming year, namely Education, Membership and Corporate Integration, Knowledge Hub, Corporate Communication & PR / Networking & Fellowship. Speaking further, Nadi said "our focus this year is to connect strongly with the members and drive the student and professional membership growth by offering value to our stakeholders".

The members of the Board for 2013 include, Nadi Dharmasiri (DGM - Brand Marketing, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC) as Regional Chairperson, Chitrangani Herat Guneratne (Vice President, Quantum Strategic Services Pvt Ltd.) as Immediate Past Chairperson, Shantha Katipearachchi (Sales and Marketing Consultant, Humming Bird International) as Senior Vice Chairman, Sanjika Perera (Director Business Development and Projects, Serendib Leisure Management Ltd) as Vice Chairman, Brian Selvanayagam (Country Manager, The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment Sri Lanka) as Honorary Secretary, Ajith Medis (Head of Marketing Management and senior lecturer at the University of Kelaniya) as Regional Treasurer, Anuradha Edirisinghe (Head of Channel Marketing of Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd), Amal Fernando (Senior Business Manager, Hemas Manufacturing (Pvt) Ltd), Sujith Silva (Director Modern Trade for ICL Marketing Pvt Ltd), and Rajiv David (Manager Marketing Communications, Union Assurance PLC).

The appointments to the Regional Management Committee are Trevine Miranda (Assistant Brand Manager, Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd), Sumudu Thanthirigoda (Planning and Insights Manager, Ceylon Tobacco Company), Aruni Abeyesundere (Communications Consultant), Piyumi Dias (Manager Business Development, Navantis IT (Pvt) Ltd.), Dimuth Fernando (Director/Chief Operating Officer at Dynamic Media Lanka (Pvt) Ltd), Thiyangie De Mel (Assistant Manager Marketing - Global R & D Centre, Stretchline Holdings), Rifka Mubarak (Account Manager, Brandix Textiles Ltd.), Keith De Silva (Director, Corporate Affairs Pvt Ltd.), Tharanga Wijekoon (Assistant Key Account Manager for Unilever Sri Lanka), Ruchira Money (Brand Manager at Unilever Sri Lanka) and Charaka Perera (General Manager Stafford Motor Co. Pvt Ltd).

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK is the world's largest professional body for marketing, represented locally by the CIM Sri Lanka Region. CIM Sri Lanka strives to continuously support and uplift Sri Lanka's marketing profession through education and a host of training and development initiatives.