Pradeepa listed amongst 100 Most Talented Global HR Leaders

Friday, 27 March 2015 00:00 -     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Pradeepa Kekulawala, a veteran professional in the field of HR was awarded the honour of being listed in the 100 Most Talented Global HR Leaders at the 23rd edition of the World Human Resource Development Congress. This prestigious list of HR Leaders is announced after an extensive research conducted by the Chief Human Resource Officers Asia (CHRO) whose research cell consists of vastly experienced Post Graduates in the fields of History and Management. CHRO Asia is an esteemed, non-profit, professional body whose objective is formed on the vision of creating a neutral platform for professionals from across Asia to connect, share experiences, learn and evolve as industry professionals. Pradeepa who currently holds the post of Head of Human Resources at SriLankan Airlines was awarded this recognition on his proven track record in the field of HR and his committed efforts at driving workplace and aviation industry HR practices with a futuristic vision. The CHRO research cell also took into consideration his capacity to promote sustainable business practices and his professional virtue of performing organisational functions with integrity whilst conforming to business ethics. The criteria and competencies that were benchmarked also took into consideration the overall positive impact and contribution he has had on fuelling HR related best practices and talent building in the aviation industry locally and globally. Amongst Pradeepa’s noteworthy achievements is the development of SriLankan Airlines’ internal training arm – the International Aviation Academy into a fully-fledged industry focussed Training Centre with a branch in Maldives, being an Accredited Training Centre of International Air Transport Association (IATA); going on to build the Academy to be amongst the top 10 in Asia and top 10 in the world within a span of three years, ably supported by his team of HR professionals. This was one of the stepping stones leading to the birth of SriLankan Training, the Aviation College, SBU of the Airline. This also paved the way for Sri Lanka and SriLankan Airlines to host the first ever International IATA Conference in Sri Lanka – The IATA Global Human Capital Summit in 2013 for which Pradeepa served as the Chairman of the local organising committee. In recognition of his contribution towards promoting the cause of IATA as a keen aviation HR Leader, Pradeepa was appointed to the IATA’s Geneva based Human Capital Development Network Steering Committee as a founder member, a position he holds still. He has made knowledge sharing presentations at numerous IATA events globally, representing the Airline. Under his stewardship, SriLankan Airlines HR function has evolved into a robust business partnering function, winning many accolades along the way locally and internationally including the prestigious ‘Best HR strategy in line with the business strategy’ award at the 5th Asia’s Best Employer Brand Awards held last year in Singapore and the HR Excellence Awards in the local corporate sector in both 2012 and 2015 in Sri Lanka. With managerial experience amassed over two and a half decades, Pradeepa has been holding crucial management positions in the disciplines of project management, general management, marketing and business development before he made the transition into the field of HR and focused his aspirations on mastering the art of human resource development.

COMMENTS