SLID presents ‘Brand in the Boardroom’

Continuing in its Power evenings, the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) on 22 November at the Cinnamon Grand presented ‘The Brand in the Boardroom: Tapping into your most underleveraged asset’ which was co-facilitated by Brand Finance Lanka Managing Director Ruchi Gunawardena and Landor Mumbai Managing Director Lulu Raghavan.

SLID Chairperson Shiromal Cooray delivered the opening remarks welcoming the participants to the event. She stated that SLID is an institute of directors for directors with a membership base of over 750 – spreading the message of good corporate governance as well as corporate stewardship and compliance. Cooray also mentioned the new initiative that SLID will be launching in January on promoting gender diversity in the boardroom.

Gunewardene explained that in many companies the role the brand plays is often marginal or superficial, as a result of which, there is money left on the table. By bringing the brand as an asset into play into the core operations, and aligning the business around the brand, incremental value can be created. Gunewardene emphasised that strategically focusing on building brand equity is pivotal for value creation and that the brand should be under the purview of the CEO and not the Marketing division.

Raghavan followed on with how a company can identify its brand, gain insights on the brand value drivers and link the brand to the business. She stated that the opportunity is to make the brand a living, dynamic system that supports the business. She used live examples which made it easier for the participants to relate to the concepts, ideas and knowledge that was shared. The presentation was followed by a vibrant question and answer session.

The concept that the brand is a living dynamic system the core of a company’s operations is summed up by Michael Eisner, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company. “We all know that the Disney brand is our most valuable asset. It is the sum total of our 75 years in business, of our reputation, of everything that we stand for.”

The closing remarks were delivered by SLID CEO Chamindā de Silva who thanked Raghavan and Gunewardene for sharing their insights, experience and knowledge, event platinum sponsor Nations Trust Bank Private Banking, hospitality partner Cinnamon Grand, annual corporate partners Dialog Enterprise, DIMO Technology, and Linea Aqua, annual print media partner Wijeya Newspapers, annual magazine partner Echelon and the participants for attending the event. The evening concluded with the opportunity to network with the two co-presenters and fellow participants informally at a drinks reception.