Stuart Chapman SLCPI Chairman

Stuart Chapman, Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKlin, has been elected as the President of the Sri Lankan Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry(SLCPI).

Chapman succeeded Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, who was President of the Chamber from 2011 to 2013.

SLCPI's other office bearers for the year 2013/2014 were also appointed at the the Annual General Meeting of the SLCPI which was held at Taj Samudra Hotel in Colombo last week, under the patronage of Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena. At the AGM, Colonel Chandra Jayarathne was elected as the Senior Vice President, while Sanjeewa Samaranayake was appointed Vice President of the Chamber. Pradeep Edward took over the position of Secretary of the SLCPI, while Mario Alphael and H.A.A. Priyantha were appointed Assistant Secretary and Treasurer respectively. In his inaugural speech, the new President said, the SLCPI, as the representative of the industry, needed to examine the values it chooses to uphold as an industry and for this purpose examine its own back yard. "This responsibility falls fairly and squarely on our industry business leaders," he said.

"As we look forward to the ensuing year, to my mind, the single most important area around which we need to build all our activities is TRUST. It is a contract we have with society, based on our values which requires the commitment of all of us. It is the foundation for growth, which may take years to build, but only seconds to destroy. Trust therefore, needs to be nurtured very carefully," the new president said, highlighting that the industry needed to trust patients, healthcare professionals, customers and the government.

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, in his speech, commended the steps taken by the SLCPI towards ensuring the betterment of the healthcare industry.