Upatissa Hulugalle, brilliant and humane

It is hard to write or deliver a eulogy about someone, especially somebody like Upatissa Hulugalle, who passed away a few days ago after a long and fulfilling life.  However, I am honored and privileged to say a few words in appreciation of the life of the late “Upay” as I knew him.

I called him Upay despite his being considerably senior to me in age, business, experience and life. He didn’t mind that at all.  That was Upay – A man able to connect with people of all ages.A Chartered Accountant he set up the well known accounting practice, Hulugalle & Wikramanayake, early in his professional life.  He was best known as a business and financial adviser to the late Upali Wijewardene and counted the late G. G. Ponnambalam QC among his many clients.  They rarely took a decision without consulting him.

My association with Upay commenced in 1989 when he joined the Board of Directors of Associated Motorways Ltd.  AMW was then going through challenging times when my late brother, Chulaka, invited him to join us. His response was immediate.

He would visit my office room everyday with a smile on his face, check on progress and provide guidance. When tasks and projects were accomplished, he was the happiest in the board room. Like his father before him, Upay was the perfect gentleman.

He was the perfect foil for the Board’s leadership at that time. He knew how to deal with Chulaka’s style of management, my style and that of my brother, Tilak. He foresaw how we should expand and develop the company in a methodical manner and give responsibility to the next generation that he took under his wing. He had, as they say, been already there and done that with business, families and personalities of the likes of Upali Wijewardene. That was Upay the mentor to the less accomplished.

When our businesses were growing, Upay contributed immensely to that growth by providing his wisdom in a calm and serene manner.  He was a troubleshooter.  Panic was not part of his DNA.

He was a part of the team that advised me on one of the biggest decisions in my life – the divestment of AMW.  It is not often in business that one encounters colleagues and partners who share your successes genuinely.  Upay was somebody who took great pleasure in such successes as if the business was his own. This most often despite the absence of any personal benefit to himself.  We were more like family having had an association of over a quarter of a century. He was the quintessential caring elder.

He had time and stories to tell my sons and those of my brothers, Tilak and Chula in whom he had an eager audience. I’m sure they would have much more to say about “Uncle Upay” as they all called him.

During the time he spent with us at AMW and thereafter from 2009 to 2015 at Associated Electrical Corporation, Upay continued to endear himself to us all as a part of our family.  I am proud to be able to say I knew Upatissa Hulugalle and to call him my friend.

In trading and business, Upay used to talk about making a “happy profit”, when one could not always buy at the lowest price, sell at the highest or maximize profit.

Let me conclude by saying that Upay bid us farewell at the age of almost 95, having lived a full life, personally succeeding in his chosen vocation, selflessly assisting others to achieve a level of success far beyond his own, seeing his children succeed in life, spending quality time with his many grand children – one might say at the very “top of the market”!

He passed away on Christmas day in 2022 and we will always miss his benign presence.

May he rest in peace.

Ajita de Zoysa