Eminent private sector personalities mentor Srilankan future leaders

Srilankan Airlines has once again enlisted the knowledge and expertise of some of the country’s eminent professionals, private sector personalities and management gurus to help groom the national carrier’s leaders of the future as part of the leadership mentoring programme launched two years ago.

Srilankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Captain Suren Ratwatte said, “We are extremely grateful to have the assistance of such eminent persons whose wealth of experience will definitely be of immense benefit to these young men and women and to Srilankan Airlines as a whole. They are all persons whose names are renowned in the corporate sector for decades.”

Srilankan Airlines Head of Human Resources Pradeepa Kekulawala said, “Srilankan Airlines is demonstrating its commitment to the future and strengthening its reputation for excellence in training and succession planning through initiatives such as this mentoring programme, which will help groom those occupying executive and middle management positions.”

This year six eminent persons namely Hatton National Bank Chief Operations Officer Dilshan Rodrigo, Postgraduate Institute of Management of University of Sri Jayewardenepura Chairman and Director Professor Ajantha Dharmasiri, Sri Lanka Inventors Commission Commissioner Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, LOLC Chairperson Rohini Nanayakkara, United Motors Lanka Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Chanaka Yatawara and President’s Counsel and Honorary Consul General for Seychelles in Sri Lanka Prashantha Lal De Alwis have accepted the airline’s invitation to assist them as mentors.

Twenty four members of the ‘succession pool’ will benefit from the wealth of knowledge of the six top personalities, who will act as mentors to them and guide them in their careers over the next two years. The national carrier’s succession pool is comprised of the airline’s best-performing executives and managers who have been identified for critical positions and have consistently ranked among the best in performance appraisals.

This is the second batch of succession pool members who are being mentored by eminent professionals from outside the airline. Mentors have several succession pool members assigned as mentees. Mentors and mentees will stay in close touch with each other from now on with regular guidance sessions on a one-on-one basis.