Debbie Jones appointed as WISTA Sri Lanka President

Guest of Honour Mclarens Group of Companies Chairman Rohan De Silva with office bearers, committee members and members

Guest of Honour Mclarens Group of Companies Chairman Rohan De Silva

WISTA SL President Debbie Jones

WISTA SL Immediate Past President Nilu Mediwake Wickramasinghe

The Sri Lankan branch of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA Sri Lanka) celebrated seven years of presence in Sri Lanka. To commemorate this significant milestone WISTA held its AGM recently at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, followed by cocktails.

This event was graced by Rohan De Silva who celebrated 50 years of yeoman service and inspiring leadership to the shipping and logistics industry in Sri Lanka. This truly was a momentous occasion for WISTA as Rohan De Silva became the recipient of WISTA personality of the year 2021 recognising his great contributions; he has supported WISTA SL throughout its journey being a WISTA SL Ambassador. De Silva shared his remarkable journey with life-long experiences, challenges he successfully overcame, sharing gratitude to the people that touched his life and assisted him in his success.

GAC Shipping Ltd. P and I Division Correspondent Manager Debbie Jones was elected as the President of WISTA Sri Lanka during the event. Debbie brings in a wealth of knowledge and experience in the shipping industry to lead and achieve the objectives of WISTA Sri Lanka. Shermans Logistics Director/CEO Diruni Chanmugam was elected as the Vice President. A.P. Moller Maersk Country Sales Manager Randima Krishnaratne was elected as the Secretary, South Asia Gateway Terminals Executive Commercial and Marketing Kalani Dassanayake was elected as the Deputy Secretary, Hayleys Advantis General Manager Shared Services Shiyamalee Karunanayake was elected as Treasurer, Hapag Lloyd Lanka Assistant Manager Customer Service Coordination Kanchana Bopitiya was elected as the Assistant Treasurer.

The newly-elected Executive Committee for the year 2021/22 consists of Nilu Mediwake Wickremasinghe – Director of SALOTA International, Swabha Wickramasinghe – Director of WorldLink Shipping Colombo, Anoma V. Ranasinghe – Consultant Shipping and HR Services of McLarens Group Management, Sujani Kumarasinghe – Head of Customer Experience of A.P. Moller Maersk, Chamila Bandara – Director/CEO of Mountain Hawk Express Licensee of FedEx, Amali Mudunkotuwa – General Manager Operations of Regency Teas, Shalinie de Silva – Assistant General Manager Marine of McLarens Lubricants, Felicita Alwis – Assistant Manager Operations of GAC Marine Services, Surangi Gunasekera – General Manager NVOCC of Prudential Shipping Lines, Chandula Rambukwella – Senior Manager PR and Communication of Hambantota International Port Group, Sharmala Fernando – Manager Key Accounts Management of Mac Supply Chain Solutions, Dharshanie Illukpitiya – Group Director Legal of McLarens Group Management, Kajini Ediriweera – Senior Sales and Marketing Executive of CMA CGM Lanka, Maleena Awn – Director Operations of Wilhelmsen Meridian Navigation, Himalika Perera – Deputy Chief Finance Manager of Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Ruwini Perera – Senior Executive Customer Solutions and Business Development of Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. The Executive Committee will work towards implementing many initiatives in accordance with the WISTA Sri Lanka mandate on improving gender parity and women empowerment in the industry.

Addressing the gathering the newly elected President Debbie Jones expressed her confidence in leading WISTA Sri Lanka to be a strong force in the industry during a very challenging period. She also stressed on the importance of empowering women and encouraging more of them to join the workforce as currently women representation in the shipping and logistics industry in Sri Lanka remains at a mere 3%. She also spoke about how the dynamics have changed where the new normalcy is more flexible work patterns and hybrid work environments.

Hayleys Advantis Ltd. was the Official Logistics Partner for the event and South Asia Gateway Terminals continue to power WISTA Sri Lanka as the Corporate Partner and will extend their support for yet another successful year of activities that promote and strengthen gender diversity and women empowerment in the industry.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola