Sandun Pathirana’s career journey spans over three decades, during which he has gained extensive experience in setting up and managing operations in markets in South Asia and the Middle East. He is a regional specialist in his field, having worked for leading conglomerates and multinational freight and logistics companies.
Sandun started his logistics career in Sri Lanka, where he worked for a Blue-Chip quoted company for 15 years, gaining first-hand experience in regional markets. He headed a company in Bangladesh and subsequently spearheaded the expansion of its operation into the Indian, Maldivian, and Pakistani markets.
Subsequently, on his joining a Hong Kong-based multinational company, he was instrumental in setting up their Sri Lankan & Bangladesh operations and was then given the responsibility of heading their Indian operations, also taking up the position of Regional Director for the Indian Sub-continent. This company, having 55 offices around the globe, got listed on the Main Stock Exchange in Hong Kong in the year 2015 & was acquired by an Asian Logistics giant trading over USD 8 Billion with a main focus on courier, E-commerce & having its own fleet of aircrafts with this outfit he was further given the responsibility to head the Middle Eastern market segment.
Sandun is confident that the Sri Lankan possess a great deal of resilience, determination & adaptability required to be a good leader, due to challenges posed by years of civil war, natural disasters, & political turmoil and its geographical location. He is determined to pass on these admirable traits to the next generation, allowing them to become leaders not only in the region but on the global arena.
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, Sandun spent most of his time in Sri Lanka, seeing the real situation of the country and being deeply affected by the suffering of the people. He wanted to assist the people and trusted that creating employment opportunities and making people’s lives better was vital for Sri Lanka’s economic revival. He feels that entrepreneurs like him should take the initiative to assist the economy by creating value by using their knowledge, skills, experience, and connections. He is guided by his father’s philosophy of ‘sincerity in purpose’ and will continue to adopt this approach when taking on challenges.
Sandun’s leadership journey and mission to empower the next generation of leaders in Sri Lanka is commendable. He is convinced in the importance of inspiring, educating, and guiding them to create resilient, innovative leaders who can lead with confidence beyond local markets and on the regional and global stage and is very passionate about it. He recently diversified beyond his domain of logistics into the fields of business consultation, property management, and tourism, starting “RS Leisure (Pvt) Ltd.” He is convinced that more can be done to boost Sri Lanka’s tourism, promoting the wonderful things Sri Lanka offers to the world as a tourist destination.
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