Entrepreneurs honoured at COYLE’s 14th Anniversary
Sri Lanka’s leading business figures assembled at a gala evening when
the Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) officially announced
its new Chairman Wasantha de Silva at the Chambers’ Annual General
Meeting. The meeting preceded the celebrations honouring excellence and
achievement in Sri Lankan business at its 14th annual event in Colombo
on Sunday.
Lighting of the oil lamp From left Chairman COYLE Wasantha
De Silva, High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha, and
Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs |
In keeping with the principles and aspirations of COYLE, the evening
was adorned by a truly traditional atmosphere with a mixture of national
garb and décor depicting the country’s national flower – the Blue Water
Lilly and the cutting of kiri-buth. Achievers’ awards were presented to
the 12 top achievers selected by a distinguished panel of COYLE
committee members. A high level audience of over 350 guests that
included Chief Guest Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris,
Ministers Bandula Gunewardena, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Members of
Parliament, Ministers of Provincial Councils, Mayors, Diplomats,
Government officials, local Government officials and businessmen.
“Sri Lanka’s time has come to realize its full potential. Some of the
most inspiring and transformational changes I see across Sri Lanka lie
outside our traditional areas of strength and offer perhaps the
brightest prospects for the future. Companies are now judged , not by
how fast they are growing , as growth is assumed, but by whether they
are growing faster than the competition,” was the theme of the address
given by Prof. G.L. Peiris.
It was further enhanced thus, “The awards highlight the modernization
of business throughout region and set a benchmark in Sri Lanka in the
way business is being done. We wanted to encourage those who are making
a change, recognizing those who in many cases had to overcome much more
than their counterparts elsewhere in the world to succeed and pierce
through. Sri Lanka has smart, young, ambitious and highly articulate
professionals and phenomenally talented entrepreneurs, many at the helm
of fast growing and dynamic companies. We are seeing Sri Lankan
visionaries and pioneers as well as indigenous companies taking the lead
and developing homegrown solutions to our problems”.
The COYLE Awards have become an important and prestigious occasion to
celebrate business excellence and recognize the achievements of
businesses and governments that have been contributing to sustained
economic growth in the country. By celebrating success, COYLE aims to
inspire others and hopes that such inspiration will lead to new business
growth and new investment. It is encouraging that there is more and more
examples of excellence and business success in the country, creating
more opportunities that are ripe for investment. The success of these
awards relies heavily on the commitment and vision of COYLE to convey a
new image of Sri Lanka, one that highlights the professionalism,
ingenuity and innovation of the business sector.
The welcome address was made by Sanjaya Jayaratne - Senior Vice
Chairman, Wasantha de Silva delivered the Chairman’s speech and Vice
Chairman Navein Perera delivered the Vote of Thanks.
COYLE also expressed its heartfelt gratitude with tokens of
appreciation to the Founder members and past Chairmen for their unique
and generous contributions to the creation, development, and support of
the Chambers as well as their unwavering commitment to its vision. |