AmCham 'Entering the Corporate Arena'

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), is connecting young students with high profile CEOs of different industries with "Entering the Corporate Arena," a forum for career guidance and entrepreneurship which was held successfully for the fourth consecutive year on May 10, 2013, at Hilton Colombo.

Entering the Corporate Arena was held with the objective to provide students with an insight into Corporate Sri Lanka and identify the skills and competencies required to build their careers.

The speakers who enlightened the forum: Ashroff Omar, Chief Executive Officer of Brandix Lanka Ltd., Anirban Ghosh Dastidar, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank and Hanif Yusoof, Group CEO of Expolanka Holdings Plc

During the event, three corporate leaders shared their knowledge and experience on different topics, to help undergraduates better prepare themselves for their future roles.

The speakers who enlightened the forum were, Ashroff Omar, Chief Executive Officer of Brandix Lanka Ltd., Anirban Ghosh Dastidar, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank and Hanif Yusoof, Group CEO of Expolanka Holdings Plc.

Ashroff Omar emphasized on two key points during his speech, perseverance and playing fair.

He said "Perseverance is the key to making a breakthrough. In most projects, the beginning is exciting and then you start facing the bumps. Often people give up and start something else.

"I regularly see CVs where the applicants have changed many jobs. I am reluctant to take these people on board. As you begin your careers, you would come across many hurdles. Don't give up, unless you are convinced that it was a dumb project to begin with anyway." He thus conveyed the importance of pursuing what you are passionate about and staying on it through thick and thin.

He aslo said, "My experience has been that if you use fairness as a yardstick without letting your pride or ego get in the way, then things work out much better" and emphasized on the magnitude of playing fair and living by principles no matter how hard the circumstances are.

He described his personal experiences involving these principles and how they had helped him succeed. Anirban Dastidar, focused on how a new entrant should adapt to the work environment, especially when working with multi-national companies and also the importance of being disciplined.

He also mentioned that when students first start a career, it may take a few tries to figure out what they really wish to do and what they are passionate about. Hanif Yusoof explained why being passionate about what you do is key to success.

He said, "Having a good idea isn't enough if you cannot support it with passion. Passion is what keeps you going amidst the ups and downs of entrepreneurship."

This event also featured the inauguration of AmCham Connect, an IT portal that allows students and aspiring young entrepreneurs to interact with top Sri Lankan company CEOs

The vision of AmCham Connect is to provide a medium for every aspiring student to connect with senior business leaders in the country and obtain their knowledge and insights for career guidance. The forum was moderated by Prasath Nanayakkara, the Vice President of AmCham.

The event was sponsored by Brandix Lanka Ltd., Expolanka Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank and Calcey Technologies.