Cinnamon Grand in strategic management paradigm shift

The senior management structure at Cinnamon Grand is seeing significant transformation beginning November, with the country’s award winning city five star hotel upping its benchmarks and Key Performance Indicators in anticipation of the impending tourism boom.

 “The changes are strategic and founded on our end goals and targets for the short, medium and longer terms,” explains General Manager Rohan Karr.  

“We have shifted our focus from a top down approach, to take into account the changing macro landscape, the global brands coming into the country and the increase in tourist arrivals, all of which will require focused leadership and strategic direction, to continue the innovative, creative and pioneering mindset within our team.”  

Young blood

This has prompted the addition of a young professional into the management team, upward movement on the career ladder for some of the existing senior management and cross-functional competency empowerment for others.  

Infusing sales experience spanning a variety of industries including real estate, telecommunication, education and apparel, Jayamal Dias takes over as Director of Sales and Marketing.  With his last posting at the Fortune 500 company of Avery Dennison, Dias says that while having had a good run, he yearned for the adrenaline rush of the hospitality industry.  

“And what better place to hone that yearning than at the best property in town?” he asks.  

The 32 year old Dias, who holds a Degree in Banking and Finance from the University of London has displayed an innate creative style and ‘out of the box’ innovative thought process into his ‘people’ personality, which is an ideal combination for the competitive city hotel marketing and sales process.  “While I see much traditionalism in the way of thinking right now, I’m all for spurring change and introducing modernism into the way we do things, to ensure that we continue to lead the way as the best city hotel in Sri Lanka.”  

Dias says he eventually wants to get into general management in the leisure industry before he turns 40, “or at the very least, an Assistant General Manager of a Five Star property.”

For the two head chefs at Cinnamon Grand, dreams have more or less been achieved.  Executive Chef Rajith Morugama has risen the ladder to become Director of Catering, while Chef Chaminda Liyanage gains the plum position of Executive Chef.  Chef Moru as he’s fondly known has been the livewire in the kitchen, producing cuisine that is truly world class.  

With 27 years experience and having been one of the first to join the then Lanka Oberoi, Chef Moru is also the proud mentor and guru for hundreds of students, some of who are now Chefs in global chains like the Marriott and Hyatt.  Extremely passionate about his food, Chef Moru opted to remain in his chef’s whites for his posting of Director of Catering, instead of donning the official suit and tie.  

“I love my jacket and I will not give it up. I like to innovate, plan and develop and it is in the kitchen that I can produce the best results,” says this author of the book, Food of Sri Lanka.  “I’m extremely proud to be Director of Catering, because this gives me further scope to look at the bigger picture in my innovating and planning process, where the hotel’s F&B can be aligned to international hotel chains and taken to the next level of products and services.”  

A graduate of the Oberoi School of Hotel Management in New Delhi, Chef Liyanage who joined the Lanka Oberoi in 1996 as a Senior Chef has certainly made his mark.  His passion for food is renowned and being under the tutelage of Chef Moru gives him the distinct advantage of taking that passion even further.  “Donning his hat as Executive Chef and taking over from the best chef in the industry is certainly a proud moment,” he says, adding that this is also the realisation of his ultimate career dream.  

Having represented Sri Lanka in 2005 at the Black Box Culinary Challenge in Brisbane, Chef Liyanage’s ambition is to continue developing cuisine and menus that will keep Cinnamon Grand ahead of the global chains to be established here.  

The public face of Cinnamon Grand, PR Manager Tharika Goonathilakes appointment as Manager Marketing Communications and Sustainability enables her to pursue her passion for the environment, a dimension fuelled during her decade as an environmental journalist and editor.  With a Diploma in Journalism from the University of Colombo which also awarded her a Gold Medal and scholarship to Sweden’s Kalmar University for further specialised studies on environmental journalism, she is keen, to make the Cinnamon Grand’s conversion to a greener corporate entity, a genuine one.

Tharika has also taken the role of traditional PR beyond the norm and has been credited for introducing a host of pioneering products and services for the hotel. She asserts that, “At Cinnamon Grand, each of our products break the mould, ensuring that we build brand loyalty, create new customer markets and higher benchmarks for the industry.”  

With environmental consciousness on top of her agenda, she also launched the Banners to bags recycling initiative (B2b), environmental wisdom cards and the Nuga Gama concepts, while creating a niche customer market by treating children as loyal customers through the Cheers Kids Club and the Funday Times joint initiative- Earth Watch, that has a membership of 16,000 children.  

“My new role will help me bring into focus the 3Ps of People, Planet and Profit and my end aim is to make Cinnamon Grand the most environmentally friendly and sustainable five star city hotel in Sri Lanka.”

Chartering a career path to ultimately reach his goal of spearheading a smaller hotel or as second in command at a five star hotel, the former Director Rooms Division Terrence Fernando begins a two year period of intense training as Manager Operations.

With nearly three decades of hospitality experience backing him, Terrence who has been with the Keells Group from 1982 including stints at Walkers Tours, Trans Asia and Colombo Plaza, is being groomed to reach his career goal through training and development encompassing a host of cross-functional competencies including F&B, banquets, restaurants, kitchen, HR, finance and engineering, culminating with overseas ‘General Manager’ training and a final stint at Cinnamon Grand for six months.  

“I really enjoyed moving from sales to operations and being involved in the subsequent refurbishment of the Courtyard Wing.  While I do know that I’ll never be able to grasp the complexities of the entirety of operations in a hotel in just two years, but this training will prepare me for what lies ahead because, I’m learning from the very best in the industry.”  

This latter sentiment is reiterated by Chris Quyn, who makes a move from Director Sales & Marketing to Director Rooms Division.  

With a career story that speaks very much of determination, commitment and passion, Chris who began his hospitality career as an Amenity Steward at the Ceylon Inter-continental nearly four decades ago, worked his way up the ladder to bell boy, concierge, reception, lobby manager and into management.  Joining Hotel Lanka Oberoi 12 years ago, his work ethic remains on the simple ethos of, “Serving my customers to make them absolutely happy.”  

Being in sales for eight years, Chris, who enthuses that he’s extremely proud to be working for Cinnamon Grand, the best hotel in the country and a truly Sri Lankan brand, aligned his decision to become Director Rooms Division to his ultimate ambition of becoming the General Manager of a five star property, as it gives him hands-on experience in a range of diverse competencies required in running a hotel.  

“In my new role, I can utilise my past experience, because everything from rooms, housekeeping, gardens, front office and spa come under this purview. My ultimate vision in this role is to imbue that unique brand of Cinnamon hospitality to every guest who walks through our door, ensuring that they feel the difference tangibly, achieved through a team of happy passionate people who smile from the heart and enjoy what they do.”