Top industry professional Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Southern Development by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Prior to the latest appointment, Dissanayake was serving as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (his second stint) and Chairman of Hambantota International Ports Services Ltd., the joint venture between SLPA and the CMPort of China.
He was also a Director of the other joint venture Hambantota International Port Group, the Colombo International Container Terminals, South Asia Gateway Terminals Ltd., and the Ceylon Shipping Corporation.
A veteran in the maritime industry, Dissanayake was the first non-British International President of Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (UK) Founded in 1911 (Royal Charter – 1913). He was also the only individual to Chair both the highest professional bodies in Maritime and Transport Logistics sectors in Sri Lanka – Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (UK) and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK) Sri Lanka branches.
He was also the first Sri Lankan to qualify at both the highest Chartered qualifications in Shipping (FICS/Chartered Shipbroker) UK and Transport Logistics (Chartered Fellow Logistics -Transport FCILT UK).
Dissanayake is also a Fellow Member (FCIM), considered as the highest professional qualification in Marketing Management and obtained a Masters’ Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management from the Sri Jayewardenepura University.
Having started his shipping career as Head of Marketing of the Ceylon Shipping Corporation, he joined the private sector as the Managing Directorof Pership Shipping Ltd., and later on, the Aitken Spence Group.
He rose up to Director on the main Board and as Chairman and CEO of Aitken Spence Maritime and Transport Logistics sectors. He was also MD of Aitken Spence Ports International, the first and only Lankan company to engage in port management overseas (in Africa) and first Sri Lankan company to pursue a Public Private Partnership in Port Management (in South Pacific Islands).
During his stint as Chairman of SLPA, some of the main and recent achievements included theconclusion of the first public/private partnership of a port in Sri Lanka (Hambantota Port); attracting the largest single foreign direct investment of $ 1.17 billion to Sri Lanka through this project; SLPA recording its highest profit of Rs. 13.1 billion in the year 2017; and the modernisation of Jaya Container Terminal with the formal initiation of JCT Stage V. During the first half of 2018, the Port of Colombo was ranked as the No. 1 fastest growing container port in the world by the Dynaliners.
Dissanayake has qualified as an Oxford Business Alumni on successful completion of the management program onstrategic leadership at the University of Oxford, UK, and successfully completed a Management program on Global Economy at Harvard Business School, University of Harvard, Boston, USA. He has alsograduated in professional shipping and was conferred a Distinction at Norwegian Shipping Academy (OSLO). Furthermore, he is a visiting lecturer at Dalian Maritime University, China, and CINEC Maritime Campus, Sri Lanka.
Courtesy of ft.lk
