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Settling in the UK, becoming a regional director at corporate headquarters at age 40
(Excerpted from the autobiography of Lalith de Mel)
“With my wife and two-year-old daughter, I came to London to take up the new appointment. We were taken to a hotel and the next day I was provided with a nice car which I drove nervously through the London traffic to Chiswick.
Reckitt & Colman had its corporate office in an elegant, ivy-clad building. It was all wood-panelled walls and period furniture and original oil paintings on the walls. I was shown to a very nice large office by a girl who said she was my secretary. I thought that was a good start. A nice office and a pretty secretary.
The Main Board members had their offices in this building on the ground floor. In a string of large offices there was the Chairman, the Chief Executive and four Group Directors. The next level below Main Board Directors were called ungraded staff and in this group there were three Regional Directors, the Head of Finance and the Head of HR. They all had their offices in Chiswick. The Managing Directors of five major businesses UK, France, USA, South Africa and Australia were also in the ungraded level. They were located in their markets.
From Ratmalana to London Corporate Headquarters was indeed a change. It was from short-sleeved shirts to three-piece Saville Row suits. The first challenge I had to negotiate was the Directors’ dining room. Lunch was like an informal meeting of the Board. It was useful for them to have the Regional Directors around and so they too had lunch with the Board. There was an ante-room to the dining room with a well-stocked bar. Most of them had a sherry or a gin and tonic and chatted for a while before going into lunch.
Lunch was a sit-down, three-course meal with some nice wine, and the menu and the wine list was on the table. The butler would take your order and ask you which wine you would like to drink. All good Chateau wines did not have a front label, which indicated whether it was red or white or mention the grape variety. On day one itself before I made a mistake like asking for a red wine with fish, I said I preferred not to drink at lunch time and declined wine. I knew that this could be a small black mark and so added quickly, unless I was entertaining guests.
When I met my Group Director in the afternoon on my first day, I sensed that someone had questioned the wisdom of appointing me a Regional Director. Ted Wright looked uncomfortable as he prattled on about nothing of importance and then got it off his chest. Ted said that it would be good both for me and the company to do a review after six months. He said, ‘Then we can both see whether it is working out well.’
John West who had been the Chairman of the Indian company and also the Ceylon Company was now a Main Board Director and I knew him well. After my chat with Ted Wright, he popped in to my office and said, `Don’t burn your boats; in case it doesn’t all work out, keep the job open in Ceylon, do not appoint a Managing Director and ask one of the Non-Executive Directors to be Acting Chairman to guide the management team.’ I thought, ‘What a vote of confidence.’ Still I was not fussed as I knew that I could do the job.
But overall it was all very stressful. We could not live for long in a hotel and we had to find a place to live. I had to be supportive of my wife who had to cope with a young daughter. We had no relatives or old friends in London who could perform a support role. In a month I would have to leave my wife on her own and travel. I had to visit all the countries that reported to me. I had the Indian subcontinent, Singapore and Malaysia.
I gave a lot of thought as to what could possibly go wrong. I had no fears or concerns at all about managing the businesses. I had good experience and knew well what impacted the key measurements by which the performance of a business was judged.
The only thing that could sink me like a torpedo was people. If the Brits in the Asian businesses and the corporate staff I had to work with said they could not work with me, I knew that was the end of the journey. At the end of six months, Ted Wright would have said, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not working out.’
The people scenario was a serious issue that had to be managed carefully, as to some of them it was perhaps an uncomfortable experience to have for the first time in their lives a coloured person as their boss.
I knew I had to change my command and control Asian style of management. I knew I had to change from ‘Will you please do this or that?’ to ‘What do you think we should do?’ Surprisingly, I did this with ease and settled well into a participative style and created the right vibes about the new black man at corporate!After six months, Ted Wright did a long review, and was very pleased with my performance and said I had done well.
Excerpts from appraisal
‘An exceptionally rapid and effective start to his job underlined by the evidence of progress in some difficult situations achieved with gains rather than losses in personal relationships.’
`Cannot be faulted on any count on the evidence of performance to date; but inevitably in a job of this kind any one year does not necessarily test every attribute uniformly. My personal estimate is that his all-round ability will be confirmed by experience and that his logical and uncompromising pursuit of clear objectives will be a distinct asset in achieving results.’
It was Ted Wright who made the brave decision to invite Lalith to the corporate office and Ted was due to retire in about a year and so he also said: ‘The onus will be on the company to make use of his outstanding abilities. It has been a privilege to have had a hand in his career to date and I wish him very well in the future,’ and he added at the end: ‘LdeM has potential beyond his present responsibilities.’
His appraisal of me had to be sent to his boss, the Chief Executive, for comment. Sir James Cleminson, the Chief Executive, wrote: ‘I totally agree.
Then at the same meeting, after the appraisal, he switched to housing and said it would be sensible for me to buy a house. I smiled and said I had no money. He said: `I know restrictions prevent you from bringing in any funds from Sri Lanka, but we have discussed this and decided to give you a loan for a good deposit on a house and we will arrange a mortgage for the balance.’
It was a clear signal that they no longer had any doubts about my ability to perform my role in the UK. I had come through the first glass ceiling without being unduly damaged by the broken glass!
Finding friends
The only thing troubling me was the rather cold and not-so-friendly atmosphere at Chiswick. The staff were more or less all English. I knew from my university days that the English were reserved and did not make friends quickly with strangers. Not like the Irish, gregarious and friendly like the Sri Lankans. Unfortunately no Irish at Chiswick!
My Secretary, who perceived that I knew very few people in the building and was a bit lonely, said: ‘We have a nice cricket ground and an enthusiastic cricket team. They practise on Thursdays. You should go along, it will be fun and you will get to know more people who work in this building.’ She was right. It was good advice.
I went and had a good net and impressed the captain who said, `Come and play for us next week’ and added, “I would like you to open batting.” It was much later that I came to know why I was offered the opener slot. The next match was London Transport, which was a regular fixture. They had a number of young West Indians who ran a mile, jumped up, grunted, and tried to bowl as fast as possible. They were wild. If you stood still, they could not hit you. I opened and scored some runs. I became the regular opening bat and played whenever I was not traveling and continued to do so until I was 50.”
There was a weekly news-sheet at Corporate called Chiswick News. After one match this is what it said:
“DE MEL’S Match
Last Wednesday evening will go down in the annals of Chiswick cricket as De Mel’ Match. Opening the innings against the Paul Abbott All Stars, Lalith contributed a faultless 65 before sacrificing his wicket in the hunt for quick runs. His innings contained many of those sinuous cuts and glances so typical of high-class oriental batsmanship. Possibly his best shot, however, was a six over midwicket which owed more to the cow of the English village green than to the sacred version of the east. He capped his performance by holding a brilliant catch in the deep off, a hit which went higher than the Taj Mahal.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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