IPM Past President Lalith Wijetunge inducted as OPA President

IPM Sri Lanka Past President Lalith Wijetunge was inducted as the 37th President of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka at an induction ceremony held on Thursday 4 January at the Cinnamon Lakeside. Over 200 distinguished professionals representing member associations were present at this important annual event. 

IPM Sri Lanka, the only professional body for the human resource fraternity in the OPA, was represented at the ceremony by office bearers of the Executive Council, senior members and the Chief Operating Officer of IPM Sri Lanka. Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.     

“We are delighted that a distinguished human resource professional of the stature of Lalith Wijetunge has been inducted as the President of this prestigious organisation. Having been at the helm of IPM Sri Lanka for three consecutive years, his dynamic leadership qualities have helped IPM achieve its current pinnacle status that it enjoys,” said IPM Sri Lanka President Prof. Dharmasiri.

“We are confident that he will be able to steer OPA to achieve greater heights as a much respected professional association during his tenure as its President,” he added.

Wijetunge’s leadership helped transform IPM Sri Lanka into a dynamic professional body in the Asia Pacific Region. As the President of IPM, he has served as a Vice President of the Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resources Management (APFHRM), the professional body of human resource and people management associations representing countries in the Asia Pacific region including Australia, New Zealand and all other Asian countries. He is also a Fellow Member of IPM. 

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the HR profession in Sri Lanka as well as internationally, a number of local and international accolades have been bestowed upon Wijetunge. Some of these are ‘IPM Lifetime Gold Medal for HR Excellence’ in 2017 the highest accolade an individual can receive for achieving excellence in the HR profession, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution in HR’ at the Sri Lanka’s Best Employer Brand Excellence Awards – 2017, ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in HR’ at the Global HR Excellence Award – 2013 in Mumbai, India and ‘Lifetime Achievement Award in HR’ at the ‘Asia’s Best Employer Brand Award’ 2012 in Singapore. Wijetunge was also adjudged the winner of the ‘International Pride of HR Profession Award’ at the Asia Pacific HR Congress 2009 held in India. 

He is presently employed as Consultant – Human Resources & Administration, Dutch Lanka Trailer Manufacturers Ltd., a well-reputed BOI company. He has a wide range of experience in serving reputed organisations as Head of Human Resources, such as SLT Human Capital Solutions Ltd., Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (popularly known as Lake House), Ceylon Leather Products Ltd., Korea Ceylon Footwear Mfg Ltd. and various other private and public sector organisations.

The OPA is the apex body of 48 member associations with a membership of over 60,000 professionals in Sri Lanka representing professions such as medicine, engineering, accountancy, architecture, law, management, banking, town planning computer science, human resource management, etc. OPA was founded in 1975 under the aegis of the Commonwealth Foundation. The OPA is a strong force in society and its opinions are sought by policy makers in the Government as well as outside. 

IPM Sri Lanka keeps pace with new trends and concepts in HR by engaging continuously with the business community to share experiences, thoughts and insights in order to enrich and enhance the HR profession. It actively encourages and promotes members’ participation at international conferences and forums to provide exposure, build networks and conduct research into areas of interest to the HR profession in Sri Lanka.

IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Human Resources Management and also to the World Federation of People Management Association. IPM, being a professional institute is also a constituent member of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) Sri Lanka. Currently, IPM comprises of over 1,200 professional members who serve in both public and private organisations.