Hemaka joins C.W. Mackie Board

Saturday, 5 March 2011 00:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Business leader and Chairman of Singer Sri Lanka Hemaka Amarasuriya has been appointed to the Board of C.W. Mackie Plc.

He will be a non executive independent director of the Company which is now an associate of Lankem Ceylon, which owns 34% stake whilst Kotagala Plantations owns 19.9% stake. High networth investor Dr. T. Senthilverl also owns 29.8% in C.W. Mackie, one of the oldest trading houses in the country.

Amarasuriya stepped down as CEO of Singer Sri Lanka last year remains Chairman of the Group.

He is a former Senior Vice President of Singer Asia Ltd., and of Retail Holdings Ltd., USA. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, U.K. He also holds a Honorary Fellowship from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, U.K. and a Diploma in Marketing Strategy from University of New York.

He is on the Directorate of other listed companies such as, Bata Shoe Co. Ceylon, NDB Bank and non-listed companies such as Equill Ltd and TNL Radio Network (Pvt) Limited.

Since holding the Chair of the Singer Group in Sri Lanka, he has built this institution to be regularly among LMD's top 20 Corporates in Sri Lanka for an unbroken sequence of 12 years 'ever since this index was introduced while earning the status for Singer as the "Most Powerful Brand in Sri Lanka” for 5 consecutive years and the vote as the "Most Popular Brand" for 5 consecutive years by people’s choice.

His role in the Marketing field has been recognized through his appointment as the President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (Sri Lanka Region). He was recognized by the Asia Retail Congress for 2007 with the "Retail Leadership Award" for his contribution to retailing in Asia and by the Chartered Institute of Marketing U.K. AS A "Visionary Business Leader" for his invaluable contribution to the Marketing Profession in initiating revolutionary changes in the consumer market (2009).

His association with local industry goes back to 1992 from which time he has chaired the Regional Industry Service Committee – Southern Province of the 'Ministry of Industrial Development, responsible for developing Industrial Estates in the Southern Province outside the Board of Investment,

Sri Lanka.

As a promoter of sports, he was invited to serve as the Chairman of the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket during 2002103 in a world cup year and was responsible for setting up the Sri Lanka Cricket Academy among other things.

He is a former Chairman of the Employer's Federation of Ceylon for several years. He was also responsible for the Human Resource Development function of Singer Asia and for the procurement function of Singer Global and chaired the Singer Worldwide Business Council which is the policy implementation body of the oldest multinational.