By Naveed Rozais
The next edition of Coffee with CEO, the networking and knowledge-sharing event organised by the Young Leaders of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will take place on 22 September 2020 at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. This upcoming edition of Coffee with CEO will feature Hemas Holdings PLC Deputy Group CEO Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson.
Wilson joined Hemas Holdings PLC in 2002, where she has held many senior management positions, including Chief Process Officer and Managing Director of the Hemas Transportation Sector. In 2016, Wilson took over as Managing Director of Hemas Pharmaceuticals, Surgicals, and Diagnostics, where she was responsible for driving the company’s local and regional expansion. She also functioned as the Managing Director of the Hemas Mobility Sector prior to being appointed as Deputy Group CEO in July 2020.
Wilson is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and is an alumna of the Senior Executive Leadership Programme at Harvard Business School. She serves on the Board of Capital Alliance Ltd. as a Non-Executive Director, along with several other Hemas subsidiaries in the healthcare and consumer industries. She is an active member of several industry associations, and is currently the first female President of the Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI), and serves on the main committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
She was recognised as one of the 12 Top Women Change-Makers in the country in 2019, by the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Wilson has also represented Sri Lanka as a member of the national netball and basketball teams.
Coffee with CEO is a quarterly knowledge-sharing and networking platform that gives young entrepreneurs and CEOs the chance to connect with iconic business leaders and change agents in an informal setting. The upcoming session marks the first session held in 2020.
The Coffee with CEO series has been taking place since 2018 and has included sessions with renowned CEOs like former Dialog Axiata Group CEO Dr. Hans Wijesuriya.
“The Coffee with CEO series is a platform for CEOs to share their experiences with young executives, CEOs, senior management, youth activists, and entrepreneurs,” Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Senior Manager – Projects Varatharaja Kumaraguru shared, adding: “It is a departure from traditional programmes because it doesn’t take the form of inspirational talks or a dos and don’ts formula. It breaks barriers and gives participants the chance to meet CEOs like Kasturi Chelleraja Wilson in an informal setting, in a way they wouldn’t otherwise be able to.”
Coffee with CEO focuses on unconventional person stories that have shaped the CEOs of today. “It’s a serious platform for those who are interested in meeting and learning from CEOs who have made it and have heart-to-heart conversations in a very natural environment.
The theme of Wilson’s session of Coffee with CEO is “make it happen, make it matter”; a theme that resonates strongly with Wilson’s philosophy that “in life, you have the least amount of control in certain situations and circumstances. But what you control is the choice you make, and making that choice matter”.
Coffee with CEO with Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson will take place on 22 September 2020 at 5.30 p.m. at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo. For more information and to make a reservation, please visit the Young Leaders of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and register for the event titles “Coffee With CEO – Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson”.
