Mahesh Amalean of MAS Holdings receives prestigious Humanitarian Award at Femmy Awards

The Underfashion Club Executive Vice President Victor Vega presenting the award to Mahesh Amalean 

MAS Holdings Chairman and Co-founder Mahesh Amalean was honoured with the Humanitarian Award at The Underfashion Club’s annual Femmy Awards Gala held on 4 February. 

The event unfolded at the Cipriani, 42nd Street, New York, USA, among the presence of many other well-established names in the international arena. The Femmy Awards, sponsored by The Underfashion Club, honours individuals and companies that contribute significantly to the growth and creativity of the intimate apparel industry. This annual gala is the premier event in the industry, recognising and celebrating the progress of the intimate apparel industry leaders across the world. All proceeds are invested back into the upliftment of the industry by way of scholarships, awards, internships, and grants to deserving students who pursue college-level intimate apparel related courses.

Amalean completed his executive education in Strategic Leadership at the Columbia University in New York. His efforts and service to the Nation granted him the title ‘Deshamanya’ in 2005 by the president of the country. The Open University of Sri Lanka went on to confer an honorary doctorate to him in recognition of his contribution to the country. 

In 2013, Amalean was one of five global business leaders recognized with a UN Award at the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) inaugural Leadership Awards presentation where he received the award for Cultural Change for Empowerment. Today, he stands as one of the Top 20 Progressive Asian Leaders, ranked by the World Business Magazine.

Speaking at the event, Amalean voiced his thoughts on this honour: “I consider this award bestowed upon me as an appreciation of the humanitarian work carried out to empower the people working with us and to uplift the communities we live in.”

He further stated: “From the inception of our business, our aspiration was to be a world-class organisation, establishing international standards in labour, health and safety and environment, and most importantly, treating people with respect and dignity.”

MAS Holdings, the company co-founded by Mahesh Amalean with his brothers Ajay and Sharad, is South Asia’s largest design-to-delivery solutions provider, with an ecosystem of design offices, apparel plants, an integrated supply chain, customised IT solutions for the apparel and footwear industry, private industrial parks and retail brands. 

The nurturing of people, their passion and ideas has evolved MAS from a business organisation to a global community which partners with some of the world’s foremost brands in fashion and style. With its 53 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across 16 countries, MAS provides employment to over 98,000 and is proud to hold a global reputation for an ethical and sustainable working environment.

Under the visionary leadership of Mahesh Amalean, MAS is committed towards creating a sustainable future for the next generation whilst contributing to the sustainability of the industry, the country and the world.