Features
Life and Times of Sumi Moonesinghe, business leader extraordinaire
This is the Afterword of Sumi Moonesinghe’s just-published biography written by Shehara de Silva herself an accomplished business executive
Fire & Ice
It was possibly a little after midnight, at the Supper Club. Circa 1991. It was the year Rajiv Gandhi was killed, the Hubble telescope was launched, and I met Sumi.
Sumi was there with Susil and mutual friends Badra and Kokila Wimalasekera. One of them introduced me to Sumi. By the end of the evening, between the dancing and the drinks, she hired me as her Marketing Director for Jones Overseas. That typifies Sumi. When needed, she can be like quicksilver, decisive and fast to assess a situation. She never walks away from closing a deal, whatever the context.
Anchor — a global case study
Her capacity to make strong and gut decisions are rarely capricious. Her mind has a clarity of purpose. She knows what she wants and she goes for it.
It was a fascinating juncture in her leadership and relationship with the New Zealand Milk Board. Anchor in Sri Lanka was already running in pole position – 70% market share with an 18 % price premium, the only country in the group at that time where Anchor had ousted the world’s biggest food company. Nestle. Nestle, on the other hand, was throwing everything and the kitchen sink at her to oust Anchor. Nestle had entered Sri Lanka in 1906 and was a 100-year-old heritage brand.
Nestle added 26 vitamins into its local Nespray, hired high-powered lobbyists, developed salacious campaigns about contaminated milk, and ran mega ad budgets on a ridiculous value proposition that “Local cows have better grass fodder than New Zealand!” It was, in fact, a classic panic reaction of how not to fight a market leader.
Sumi was unfazed. She had a knack of finding the right people for the right job – this was her ‘A team’. She trusted them, empowered them and resourced them.
Mehra Abeygunawardene’s meticulously executed sales strategy became the playbook for the Middle East and Asia. JoJo Kanjirath had made Anchor the country’s biggest milk brand and Sumi had a brilliant stroke of intuition in backing Rosy Senanayake (who became Mrs. World). She positioned her as the face and mother figure, retaining her across time which showed her ability to stay the course, despite her legendary impatience. She knew if something was working well, not to change it. It’s a fine line, but business acumen is founded on timing and Sumi knew when to move and when to hold on and milk an opportunity. Pun intended!
Unconsciously, they had stumbled upon the fact that the masses believed that Rosy’s fairness came from drinking Anchor, and though at no point did the messaging ever state this, the subliminal correlation stuck. Coupled with a constant messaging of quality premium value and that ‘mother knows best,’ Anchor was the poster brand for brand building.
Sumi then took one of those courageous calls so rare amongst business leaders. To do the morally right thing and not fret the business impact, she partnered UNICEF on a public awareness series conceptualised by Shaan Corea, commissioning the country’s first public service awareness campaign on the importance of breastfeeding and neonatal tips for mums. It was another stroke (unintended perhaps but spot on) of marketing brilliance.
It was a double whammy. Rupavahini gave her free prime time exposure that far exceeded her production costs, achieving huge brand saliency. The consumer trusted the brand because it told them the right thing – breastfeed as long as you can. And they remembered with gratitude the multitude of tips they got in their early postnatal days and migrated in the six months or first year when mother’s milk was no longer available.
It was around this time that I entered the business. Anchor was already a well-established market leader and she took another risk, by deciding to grow the market in a generic ‘Drink more milk’ campaign. Marketing textbooks would advise against generic market development campaigns by premium segment players with a dominant market share (Anchor’s 70% as price leader was itself a market anomaly).
Theory said this strategy would grow competitor share at the bottom end. Never one to fear the path less travelled, she threw the rule book out and backed a campaign that grew the market for the lower masses. The highly-creative cartoon-style milk campaign ended up sweeping the SLIM Campaign of the Year Award and the Effies.
Anchor’s brand building success will certainly go down in the annals of local marketing case lore, and in Fonterra’s case its global strategy, as a benchmark. I recall Unilever Brands Director Amal Cabraal asking me to send him a case study on Anchor that he could highlight at a Unilever global conference. We were a small country but we were the pole star. Sumi was treated like royalty by the main Board of Directors of New Zealand Milk Products (NZMP), all of whom were her friends by now. There was deep and abiding respect and trust.
In the meanwhile, The Maharaja Group, which owned the franchise, acquired the Pepsi franchise. Jones Overseas, under Sumi, oversaw and funded the Pepsi sales force until it got on its feet. Various other distractions were tossed in – a cough syrup and a cookie business from Australia to boot. She succesfully brokered a joint venture with New Zealand Milk, and Jones Overseas which was renamed New Zealand Milk Products Pvt. Ltd (NZMP).
Around this time, Sumi raised her game. She decided to grow the lower end of the market with the introduction of Ratthi, a risky move that stretched the trust of the New Zealanders. It is a testament to the faith they had in her that they let her get away with it.
To differentiate and consolidate the new brand and ensure there was no cannibalization from Anchor, Sumi needed a rear guard attack on Lakspray. She brought in a UK-manufactured milk powder which had 26% milk fat (less cream, less quality) to attack the number two value leader Lakspray. Lakspray was a leader in the tea and coffee segment at a different price point.
She had initially decided to push it unbranded to tea and coffee shops in plain foil packs. It failed to gain traction. This was the juncture at which I entered the business. I asked her if she had the guts to go the whole hog and really build a new market segment rather than try a covert unbranded attack. She didn’t flinch or waver, but flagged me on. Thus, Ratthi was born. Today, it has totally ousted Lakspray, dominating this segment.
In the interim, she decided to extend the Anchor brand architecture into related dairy categories. She began drawing plans to introduce yoghurt and butter lines and constructed a factory, doing it in record time. This once again, became a blueprint for NZMP and Fonterra, the umbrella corporate brand name that New Zealand Dairy Board used in other parts of Asia. She eventually facilitated a complete acquisition of NZMP by Fonterra in 1996, making it a full multinational, and the Maharaja Group exited the business.
The philanthropist and friend
I had been with her under two years when I needed to leave Sri Lanka and support my husband who was taking up a posting in Kuala Lumpur. Sumi was sad to see me go at such a critical juncture. But she was ever so supportive, offering to open many doors with her legion of contacts in the region.
This again was one of Sumi’s most defining features. Her largeness of heart and spirit. I saw her offer an entire sugar trading business, which was immensely lucrative, to one of her Anchor team salespersons. Her cup was overflowing; she had made enough. So she gave that business away, lock, stock and barrel for love and friendship – with nothing expected in return.
Most recently, I was with her one day when a call came through; Teddy, one of her old team members, had had a heart attack and needed urgent surgery. She called his daughter and said, “I’m transferring a million rupees, get the surgery done.” She saved his life.
Decades on, she crossed over from Singapore especially to meet me in Kuala Lumpur. She heard I had hit one of those rough patches. My husband was tail-ending a long battle with Alzheimer’s, my youngest was doing her A/Levels going to one of the most expensive British schools in Kuala Lumpur, my son was at university in London, and although I had a plum job as Country Head of Interbrand, the world’s premier brand consultancy.
I was faced with a moral dilemma. There was some distrust that had developed between the local equity partner, the Chinese entrepreneur and Group Chairman who had brought me into Malaysia and his Regional Director and JV partner. It was a typical multinational strategy of playing around with transfer pricing, keeping most of the business within the Singapore and Japanese regional offices. I had decided to leave rather than be disloyal to my former boss. However, my daughter’s education was being paid for by the company and pulling her out of school could jeopardise her A/Levels.
I had bounced my concerns off Sumi; as a former boss she knew that loyalty scored high in my playbook. In her characteristically generous and impulsive style, she came over from Singapore and told me, “Never fear the future. Don’t worry, this will pass. You will fly high again. I admire what you are doing for your husband and holding the family together.” She left me an envelope, making me promise not to open it until she left.
In it, was a note which said: “Consider this a belated thank you for helping me on my journey towards success. With love and gratitude,” and a cheque covering an entire year of my daughter’s schooling! What was amazing was not that she offered to pay the fees, but her sensitivity to my pride and ego, framing it as a reward for work done. In fact as I tried to return it, she blithely said, “Think of it as a delayed bonus!”
(Shehara de Silva is a Non-Executive Director of Keells Food and the former Marketing Director at New Zealand Milk Products (Sri Lanka).
(To be continued next week)
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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