Debbie Jones appointed WISTA Sri Lanka president

The Sri Lankan branch of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA Sri Lanka) celebrated 7 years of presence in Sri Lanka. To commemorate this significant milestone WISTA held their AGM on 29th October at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, followed by Cocktails.

This event was graced by Rohan De Silva who celebrated 50 years of yeoman service and inspiring leadership to the Shipping and Logistics Industry in Sri Lanka. This truly was a momentous occasion for WISTA as Rohan De Silva became the recipient of WISTA personality of the year 2021 recognizing his great contributions, he has supported WISTA SL throughout their Journey being a WISTA SL AMBASSODOR. De Silva shared his remarkable journey with life-long experiences, challenges he successfully overcame, sharing gratitude to the people that touched his life and assisted him in his success.

Ms. Debbie Jones, Correspondent Manager P and I Division at GAC Shipping Ltd was elected as the President of WISTA Sri Lanka during the event. Debbie brings in a wealth of knowledge and experience in the Shipping Industry to lead and achieve the objectives of WISTA Sri Lanka. Diruni Chanmugam – Director / CEO of Shermans Logistics, was elected as the Vice President. Randima Krishnaratne – Country Sales Manager of A.P.Moller Maersk was elected as the Secretary, Kalani Dassanayake – Executive Commercial & Marketing of South Asia Gateway Terminals was elected as the Deputy Secretary, Shiyamalee Karunanayake – General Manager Shared Services of Hayleys Advantis was elected as Treasurer, Kanchana Bopitiya – Assistant Manager Customer Service Coordination of Hapag Lloyd Lanka was elected as the Assistant Treasurer.

The newly elected Executive Committee for the year 2021/22 consists of Nilu Mediwake Wickremasinghe – Director of SALOTA International, Swabha Wickramasinghe – Director of WorldLink Shipping Colombo, Anoma.V Ranasinghe – Consultant Shipping and HR Services of McLarens Group Management, Sujani Kumarasinghe – Head of Customer Experience of A.P.Moller Maersk, Chamila Bandara – Director /CEO of Mountain Hawk Express Licensee of FedEx, Amali Mudunkotuwa – General Manager Operations of Regency Teas, Shalinie de Silva – Assistant General Manager Marine of McLarens Lubricants, Felicita Alwis – Assistant Manager Operations of GAC Marine Services, Surangi Gunasekera – General Manager NVOCC of Prudential Shipping Lines, Chandula Rambukwella – Senior Manager PR and Communication of Hambantota International Port Group, Sharmala Fernando – Manager Key Accounts Management of Mac Supply Chain Solutions, Dharshanie Illukpitiya – Group Director Legal of McLarens Group Management, Kajini Ediriweera – Senior Sales & Marketing Executive of CMA CGM Lanka, Maleena Awn – Director Operations of Wilhelmsen Meridian Navigation, Himalika Perera – Deputy Chief Finance Manager of Sri Lanka Ports Authority & Ruwini Perera – Senior Executive Customer Solutions and Business Development of Hellman Worldwide Logistics. The Executive Committee will work towards implementing many initiatives in accordance with the WISTA Sri Lanka mandate on improving gender parity and women empowerment in the industry.