Dr. Rohantha Athukorala awarded Rotarian of the Year

Tuesday, 30 June 2026 05:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dr. Rohantha Athukorala (left) receives the award from Rotary Sri Lanka and Maldives Governor Delvin Pereira. Rotary International Immediate Past President Stephanie Urchick and Past President/Trustee K.R. Ravindran are also present

Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, one of the most respected Rotarians in Sri Lanka and Maldives, was awarded the prestigious “Rotarian of the Year 2025/26” award by Governor Delvin Pereira at the Rotary Awards Ceremony, popularly referred to as the “Rotary Oscars,” held at ITC Ratnadipa.

The distinguished global Rotary leaders, present included Immediate Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick and Past Rotary International President/Rotary International Trustee K.R. Ravindran.

The award recognises Dr. Athukorala’s exceptional contribution to Rotary through his expertise in project management, strategic communications and brand building in which he has consistently helped elevate Rotary’s profile and impact across Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

This recognition marks the third major Rotary award received by Dr. Athukorala. In 2019, he was honoured as the “Most Outstanding Rotarian of the Year” by then District Governor Dushan Soza. In 2015 Rotary year, Dr. Athukorala was awarded “The Exceptional Rotarian” under District Governor Gowri Rajan.

In 2021, he achieved international recognition when Rotary International selected him as one of only six “People of Action” honourees worldwide, becoming the first Sri Lankan Rotarian in the country’s history to receive this distinction under the District Governor Ajith Weerasinghe.

Beyond Rotary Dr. Athukorala has an outstanding 21-year career in British multinationals Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, and DiverseyLever. His area of expertise is in building brands, expanding markets. “These same skills became a defining factor in his Rotary success,” said Governor Delvin Perera who is a banker by profession.

Successive District Governors have repeatedly identified and leveraged his strengths in Project Management and Brand building for community service.

Dr. Athukorala holds a unique distinction for serving Sri Lanka as Chairman of both the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Tourism, two institutions that play a pivotal role in connecting Sri Lanka with global markets. He also served with the United Nations (UNOPS) for Sri Lanka and Maldives, during a period in which the organisation secured global recognition for project excellence. An alumnus of Harvard University he currently serves as Vice Chairman of the World Rural Tourism Organisation based in Luncuun China, CEO of a AI based brand mapping Indian company Clootrack Software Labs, Director of Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) and Lotus Hydro Power PLC just to name a few.

“Sri Lanka must become a $ 200 billion economy whilst focussing on poverty eradication and each of us must do our duty,” said Dr. Athukorala.