New leadership at Q & E
Q&E, one of Sri Lanka's foremost independent marketing communications
specialists, recently announced that, effective May 1st this year,
industry icon Dilrukshi 'Dilky' Wijeyekoon would be resigning from the
company that she has led for well over a decade, She will be migrating
to Australia in order to pursue fresh opportunities and new challenges,
with Asiri Abhayaratne, current Brand Management Director, taking over
as CEO.
Asiri has already begun assuming many of the day-to-day duties of
steering the company, as part of a succession and leadership transition
process that has been underway over the last six months.
Dilky has led an agency that has significantly expanded the scope and
potential of advertising and marketing communications in Sri Lanka.
During her tenure, Q&E has won the trust of leading brands in nearly
every industry, from retail to financial services, from diversified
conglomerates to apparel innovators. She is renowned for her insistence
on producing quantifiable results for clients, leveraging her prior
experience as Head of the Q&E's Media Unit to spearhead innovative media
buys that capture 'eyeballs' and maximize clients' budgets.
Her belief in 'her people' has allowed her to develop an
industry-best team of brand architects, media planners, designers and
writers. Quoting the Jack Kerouac classic, On the Road, the English
Honors graduate exclaimed with a chuckle that the ones for me are "the
mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk", mad about shaking
brilliant ideas loose from their heads. Dilky prides herself on spotting
talent early and guiding her employees towards their potential, while
giving them the independence they need to find out where their ideas
lead. Her hands-on approach to managing the company is mirrored by her
successor, Asiri Abhayaratne, who is as comfortable in a creative
brainstorming session as he is in a client meeting on corporate
strategy.
He will be taking over a profitable firm that is poised to become the
most sought-after MarCom specialist in the country. A graduate of the
University of London, Asiri counts over a decade of experience in
product and services development, drawn from companies as diverse as
SriLankan Airlines, Dialog Axiata, LMRB, and Union Assurance.
As the past coach of Royal College's champion rowing team, Asiri was
instrumental in aligning talent with common purpose, a template for
success that has also helped him build winning relationships with
clients and Q&E team members.
Speaking about the leadership change, Asiri pledged to uphold Q&E's
vision of helping clients and its own team members find [their]
difference. From strategically repositioning corporates, to developing
brand identities and designing 360 degree tactical advertising
campaigns, Q&E has earned a reputation as the difference-maker by
transforming client and brand essences into strategic advantages.
This philosophy is exemplified by Q&E team members, who bring a
dazzling diversity of viewpoints, ideas and backgrounds to bear on their
work.
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