“Trust is institution’s greatest asset”, says CMG Chairman as group nears centenary

A specially choreographed Sri Pop dance performance created exclusively for the Executive of the Year Awards, showcasing a contemporary Sri Lankan dance style 

By Tyron Devotta

As the Capital Maharaja Group enters the final stretch towards its centenary year, Chairman Sashi Rajamahendran believes the organisation’s greatest asset is not its brands, buildings nor financial performance, but the culture of leadership and trust that has been built over generations.

That philosophy was at the heart of the Capital Maharaja Group’s Executive of the Year 2026 Awards, where leadership at every level of the organisation was celebrated as the driving force behind the Group’s continued success. The chairman said such leadership was not created overnight but cultivated over years and decades, creating a self-sustaining culture in which leaders develop future leaders and earn the trust and respect of both management and their peers.

More than 1,700 executives, business leaders, diplomats, government representatives and partners gathered at Stein Studios in Ratmalana for the awards ceremony, which coincided with the Group celebrating the strongest financial performance in its history. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya attended the event as Chief Guest. Also attending the event was Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar.

The Group recorded 17% growth during the year, driven by strong performances across its diversified businesses. Among the year’s notable achievements were S-lon’s expansion into AgriTech and water purification, PE Plus regaining market leadership in water tanks while strengthening its position in PVC ceilings and wall cladding, Kevilton securing market leadership in wiring devices, continued international growth across the Group’s tea businesses, ICL building on EVA’s Superbrand recognition, Harcros returning to growth in the agricultural sector and M Entertainments expanding Sri Lankan music into international markets through new global partnerships.

Yet despite the record performance, Rajamahendran devoted his address not to financial success, but to a broader reflection on leadership, institutional resilience and the values that have sustained the organisation for nearly a century.

For him, the answer lies in leadership, not as authority or achievement, but as the ability to earn trust over time. “Achievement is never really the story. Leadership is,” he told the audience.

The philosophy was shaped by one of the darkest periods in the Group’s history. Reflecting on the events of July 1983, the chairman recalled how many of the Group’s factories and properties came under violent attack during the riots. While physical assets were destroyed, something far more valuable remained intact.

“In 1983, this Group lost many things. But it did not lose its people. They stood beside the Group. And the group stood beside them.”

He described that period as the defining chapter in the organisation’s history, arguing that institutions are ultimately built not on infrastructure or financial strength but on shared values, loyalty and relationships that endure during difficult times.

As the Group approaches its 100th anniversary in just four years, he said each generation carries the responsibility not merely to preserve that legacy but to strengthen it before passing it on.

That same philosophy shaped his reflections on leadership. Quoting former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, Rajamahendran reminded the audience that “the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,” reiterating that meaningful work, not titles or recognition, ultimately defines successful leaders.

Judgement, integrity, empathy and the willingness to stand beside people during difficult times, he said, matter far more than individual achievement. His remarks also extended beyond the organisation itself to Sri Lanka’s broader recovery.

Reflecting on the country’s progress over the past year, Rajamahendran acknowledged the role played by the Government, the Central Bank, financial institutions, businesses and ordinary citizens in rebuilding confidence despite continuing global uncertainty, including conflict in the Middle East and the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

National progress, he observed, is rarely created by one institution acting alone. It depends on many institutions functioning effectively together. Cyclone Ditwah provided one of the clearest demonstrations of that principle.

“When disaster strikes, people do not simply look for information,” he said. “They look for institutions they trust.”

He cited the Group’s Gammadda initiative, which coordinated relief operations by land, sea and air following the disaster, as an example of Government agencies, the armed forces, volunteers, private organisations and ordinary citizens working together towards a common purpose.

“What stayed with me most was the willingness of the armed forces, volunteers, private organisations and ordinary Sri Lankans to come together,” he said. “Just as importantly, there was trust, there was cooperation from the Government, and there was room for each institution to play its part. In moments of national need, there are no competing agendas.”

Rajamahendran also acknowledged the continued support of the Minderoo Foundation, describing its partnership with Gammadda as a reflection of international confidence earned through years of consistent work. He also highlighted the Walk of Peace, led by Ven. Panyakaara Thero, as another example of institutions bringing communities together through a shared national purpose.

The emphasis on leadership and institutional strength was also reflected in the Group’s own succession planning, with several senior leadership appointments announced during the evening. The Group announced senior appointments including Tamara Kudaliyanage as Chief Information Officer, Buddhi Wickramanayake as Chief Executive Officer of MBC Networks and Ravi Gamage as Group Director responsible for Human Resources.

The evening’s highest honour, Executive of the Year 2026, was presented to Buddhi Wickramanayake in recognition of his leadership in driving new growth and profitability across MBC Networks.

Also shortlisted were CEO – Chemicals Chandima Atukorale, CEO – Tuffline Neomi Nalawansa, CEO – Kevilton Samantha Alwis, and Sirasa TV General Manager – Sales Kalpani Somapala, reflecting the depth of executive leadership developing across the Group.

Closing the evening, Rajamahendran returned to a philosophy that has defined the organisation for decades: “The Courage to be Different.” He argued that the phrase is far more than a corporate slogan. Every generation, he said, must earn it anew.

The generation that rebuilt the Group after 1983 earned it. Those who steered it through years of economic uncertainty, the pandemic and Sri Lanka’s financial crisis earned it as well. Today’s leaders, he said, now carry that same responsibility.

“Our responsibility is simple,” he concluded. “To leave it stronger than we found it.”

Nearly a century after the Capital Maharaja Group began as a modest manufacturing enterprise, the message resonated far beyond an executive awards ceremony. Institutions are not remembered for the crises they face, but for how they respond to them; and the trust they earn along the way.