Metal Factor names Yong Lye Peng Scholarship Winner

Thursday, 23 April 2026 04:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Young Lions winners

2026 Yong Lye Peng Scholarship winner Sampath Karunaratne (centre) with jury Gian De Rose, Ranil de Silva, Kaushala Amarasekara and Sheron Jayasundara

Metal Factor has named Sampath Karunaratne, Creative Director at MullenLowe Sri Lanka, as the recipient of the 2026 Yong Lye Peng Scholarship.

With nearly two decades in Sri Lanka’s advertising industry, Sampath began his career as a copywriter and has since built a strong body of work and leadership within the creative community. The scholarship awards him a partially funded opportunity to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026 in France.

Metal Factor’s Next Generation Program, championed by advertising veteran Ranil de Silva, is a continued investment in senior industry talent, aimed at elevating Sri Lanka’s creative standards through global exposure and learning.

In parallel, Metal Factor also concluded the local Young Lions Competition, selecting ten representatives across Media, PR, Print, Film and Marketers categories. Representing Phoenix Ogilvy are Sachintha Gunawardane, Hasith Dilakshana, Azraa Saldin, Nirmala Premachandra, Afridi Hussain and Magdalene Maveena Manickam. Flipit Media is represented by Devseth Fernando and Naviyn Wickrema, while Sunshine Consumer Lanka Ltd is represented by Ronan Edirisinghe and Yeshani Wanniyabandara. All winners will go on to represent Sri Lanka at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.