SLIM veterans appointed Asia Marketing Federation President and General Secretary

The Asian Marketing Federation (AMF) has appointed Rohan Somawansa, the past President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), as its new President, while two other prominent marketers from SLIM have been appointed as its General Secretaries. 

Concurrently, the incumbent President of SLIM, Pradeep Edward along with past President of SLIM, Ruwan Liyanagamage have also been appointed to the role of General Secretary of the Asian Marketing Federation at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting held in China.

The members of the Board of the Asian Marketing Federation are chosen from among many candidates from other powerful member countries, namely Sri Lanka, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Vietnam and Malaysia. 

The Asia Marketing Federation (AMF) is a collaboration platform for all the marketing associations in Asia. Originally founded in 1991 as the Asia Pacific Marketing Federation (APMF), it evolved into AMF in 2007. The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) is the local body affiliated to the Asia Marketing Federation.

Rohan Somawansa, the new President of the AMF, is currently the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication/Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at the DSI Samson Group, the largest footwear manufacturer and retailer in Sri Lanka. Somawansa is a marketing graduate and holds several postgraduate qualifications. He has also served as a senior member of the Education Reforms Committee of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing in the last six years and as a Chief Examiner in Marketing for CMA exams conducted by CMA Sri Lanka. 

He holds several professional memberships, namely Fellow Member of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) and the Singapore Institute of Marketing (SIM). He is also a member of the American Marketing Association and a member of World Chief Marketing Officers’ forum (CMO). Somawansa has been on the Board of the Asian Marketing Federation for a while, as he was initially appointed Vice President in 2011 and then the First Vice President last year, prior to his new position at the helm of the Federation. 

The incumbent President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, Pradeep Edward, counts over two decades of experience in the field, and has spent the last eight years at Board Level in General Management/Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer capacity. He currently provides direction to Lanka Hospital Diagnostic as their Chief Executive Officer. 

Edward holds an MBA from Buckinghamshire University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing/Business Management and a Diploma in Finance. He is a Certified Professional Marketer (Asia Pacific), Practising Marketer (Sri Lanka) Chartered Marketer (CIM-UK), and a Fellow Member of Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK).  SLIM past President, Ruwan Liyanagamage, who holds the joint position of General Secretary with Pradeep Edward, is a versatile business leader with a strong foundation in Sales and Marketing. He has over two decades of experience in various disciplines that include Finance, Sales and Marketing – specialising in FMCG markets. 

Liyanagamage held the post of Treasurer of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, while he was a council member, for four consecutive years, just prior to being appointed as the President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (2015/2016). He is a Director at Chisel Holdings Ltd., and Head of Operations for Therighttalent.net – a leading head-hunting partner in Sri Lanka.

All three new appointees have been involved with representing and guiding the local marketing body, the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, and have served the local Marketing and Sales industry in numerous ways.  The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing promotes marketing excellence around the island as a corporate business philosophy and central business function and is an organisation that creates value for its customers and stakeholders.