HR thought leader Jayantha Amarasinghe elected CIPM Sri Lanka President

Jayantha Amarasinghe – an acclaimed and accomplished human resources thought leader with nearly 30 years of leadership experience in delivering innovative and strategic people management practices across multiple industries and geographies – was unanimously elected as the President of CIPM Sri Lanka, the nation’s leader in human resource management, at the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday at the Water’s Edge in Battaramulla.

Having held key HR leadership positions at renowned local and international organisations successfully driving people-centric strategies and practices to create value and achieve transformational change across diverse business domains, Jayantha currently performs the key strategic role of Deputy General Manager - Human Resources at Seylan Bank PLC, where he has contributed immensely by bringing in great HR practices.

“I am honoured and humbled by the trust that the members have placed in me to lead Sri Lanka’s leader in human resource management for the next year. I have earmarked a few key projects and areas that will enhance CIPM’s position as a national force while taking it to the next level in human resource management in the post COVID-19 era,” said CIPM Sri Lanka President Jayantha Amarasinghe. 

“One key initiative during my tenure is to extend our research initiatives on a national scale through the CIPM Applied Research Centre so that we have a scientific approach in identifying and addressing practical areas of concern in the practice of HRM in Sri Lanka. We will also further strengthen our consultancy and HR services in order to share the wealth of knowledge and experience that we possess while developing the expertise of our members, resource personnel as well its staff members in order to achieve their full potential,” he added. 

Jayantha is passionate in executing the education framework of the CQHRM (Chartered Qualification in HRM) program, which was rolled out recently under his chairmanship to ensure that the HR fraternity both in the private and public sector will be able to reap the benefits of this internationally recognised charter.

Managing the COVID-19 impact, achieving sustainable business growth, working together with government policymakers, rolling out national level initiatives, international relations and HR World Congress in Q1 2021, creating a branding revolution, enhancing efficiency and convenience through digitisation, automation and business process reengineering, increasing the frequency of corporate events to engage with the private and public sector are some of the priority areas that have been identified to deliver results during Jayantha’s tenure.   

Commencing his career at the retail giant Singer Sri Lanka, Jayantha’s unrelenting endeavour for excellence and continuous development propelled him steadily in his professional career enabling him to move to Nations Trust Bank PLC prior to accepting a global HR leadership role at the Doha Bank in Qatar where he oversaw the HR function of four UAE countries gaining an unmatched knowledge of the inner workings of this global financial enterprise, while managing a multicultural and diverse workforce, representing 21 nationalities. 

Jayantha is an attorney-at-law and holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Colombo and an MBA from the Buckinghamshire New University, UK. He is a postgraduate diploma holder in management from the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, and holds a national diploma in human resources management from the CIPM with a merit pass. 

Jayantha also holds a postgraduate diploma in international relations from the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS). He is also a certified assessor from SHL Group PLC (Singapore) for administering personality and psychometric testing. Some of the high intensity C-suite executive training that Jayantha has been exposed to include ‘Fast Forward Leadership’ by Cerebrus Consultants India, Strategic Human Resource Management from the Bella Vista College of Hyderabad India and ‘Unleashing Creativity for Innovation’ by the Mankidy Associates Centre for HR Solutions, Pune, India. 

Under the stewardship of its new President, Jayantha Amarasinghe, CIPM Sri Lanka will continue in its endeavour in achieving its vision to be a guiding force and global leader in developing and managing human capital.