Rohitha Amarapala re-elected as President IPM Sri Lanka for 2015/16

Rohitha Amarapala

Reputed HR professional and Head of Human Resources at Pan Asia Bank Rohitha Amarapala was unanimously re-elected as the President of IPM Sri Lanka for the year 2015/16 at the Annual General Meeting held recently at the IPM’s Head Office ‘HR House’ in Colombo 5. 

Over 200 members participated at the AGM. Accepting his re-election Amarapala thanked the general membership for placing their trust and confidence in him to lead IPM Sri Lanka for another year, pledging to work closely with the general membership to take IPM Sri Lanka to even greater heights.  

A Council comprising of 18 Office bearers and Council members including Vice President Shanaka Fernando, Honorary Secretary C. Gannile, Honorary Assistant Secretary Aruna Dayanatha, Honorary Treasurer Gp. Capt. Kumar Kirinde (Retd.), Honorary Assistant Treasurer Namal Jayaweera and Honorary Editor Indika Abeysuriya were also elected to assist in governing IPM Sri Lanka for the next year. 

Subsequently, in keeping with the Constitution, another four members of the institute with versatile exposure into HR namely U.A.C. Obeyesekere, Janaka Kumarasinghe, Prasad Piyadigama and Dr. Bhadra Arachchige were also invited as co-opted members to serve in the current IPM council. 

“The year 2014/15 was a positively significant year for IPM Sri Lanka, recording tangible results in many spheres. The well-defined program of activities implemented with the dedicated efforts of the leaders and members of the Council Subcommittees were successful in delivering results which added value to the institute as well as to the membership,” said Amarapala.     

“As the nation’s leader in HRM we strongly believe that promoting and propagating the Human Resource Discipline and uplifting the HR profession is our core responsibility as an institute. This is the primary mandate we have received at the time of our incorporation by the Parliamentary Act and we must therefore not lose focus and sight of this important obligation on our part when discharging our responsibilities towards this institute,” he added. 

IPM Sri Lanka has given the highest priority to this aspect of its Parliamentary mandate during the Council year by taking vital steps to enhance the professional outlook of the institute in terms of both delivery as well as reputation. 

Apart from introducing many best practices in both the Secretariat and Business School, IPM has also developed a new strategic plan which has been developed through a comprehensive process of discussion, deliberation and consultation with the involvement of key stakeholders, including council members, staff members, resources personnel and general membership.

Some of the far-reaching initiatives undertaken during the past year have enabled IPM Sri Lanka to be recognised as having reached the pinnacle of success in professional education. This was amply reflected by being awarded the ‘The Most Respected Entity in the Education Industry in 2015’ Award by the prestigious LMD. 

The various activities conducted by IPM Sri Lanka such as ‘The Great HR Quiz’, Business Leaders’ Power Breakfast, the seminar titled: ‘HR for Life’ organised in Kandy, ‘The Great HR Debate’, People Leaders Award with the collaboration of another six key professional bodies, The National HR Conference and The HR Service Providers Exhibition which were unique in their own way, enabled to create overarching awareness on HR. 

As an organisation that is built and operates on the strength of its membership, IPM Sri Lanka has made a conscious effort to add value to its membership in areas such as education, sharing of knowledge, transfer of skills, professional development, networking, career guidance amongst a host of other activities. The new look ‘People Power’ membership magazine is seen as another successful initiative which now affords an opportunity for members to share knowledge, update themselves as well and to stay informed of the newest developments and trends in HR. 

In addition to the professional endeavours, the eagerly awaited social events organised by IPM Sri Lanka such as the Annual Members’ Get-together and HR Ball have created various networking platforms for members to congregate in numbers and have fun too in the company of their fellow-members! 

IPM was founded in 1959 and was subsequently incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1976. IPM is affiliated to the Asia Pacific Federation 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 Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) Sri Lanka. Currently IPM comprises of over 1,000 Professional Members who serve in both public and private organisations.