Category: Daily Financial Times

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC has bagged six awards – the highest number won by a Sri Lankan bank – at the 2026 Asian Banking and Finance (ABF) Awards in Singapore across three key segments.

Presented at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the six-award haul spanned retail banking, wholesale banking, and corporate and investment banking, reflecting the bank’s strength across customer segments, technology-led innovation, sustainability, and complex financial solutions.

In the retail banking category, Commercial Bank was named ‘Private Bank of the Year’ and ‘SME Bank of the Year,’ recognising both its sector-leading financial performance and its sustained leadership in supporting Sri Lanka’s SME sector. The bank achieved a significant milestone in 2025, becoming the first private sector bank in the country to grow its loan book beyond Rs. 2 trillion, recording growth of Rs. 541 billion over 12 months while doubling its annual asset growth over the preceding year and leading peers across multiple key performance indicators. Its SME banking credentials are equally compelling, having been ranked the largest lender to the sector in Sri Lanka for five consecutive years by the Ministry of Finance.

The bank’s commitment to innovation and sustainability was recognised in the wholesale banking segment, where it received the titles of ‘Sri Lanka Domestic AI Initiative of the Year’ and ‘Green Financing Bank of the Year.’ The AI award acknowledges the bank’s pioneering AI-powered SME Credit Underwriting Solution, which has transformed credit evaluation processes, while the green financing accolade reflects its leadership in advancing sustainable lending and environmentally responsible banking practices.

In corporate an investment banking, Commercial Bank won the awards for ‘Corporate Client Initiative of the Year’ and ‘Debt Deal of the Year,’ highlighting its advisory-led approach and execution capabilities. The Corporate Client Initiative award was presented for the impact of the Bank’s TradeLink platform, which has redefined trade finance for businesses, while the Debt Deal recognition was awarded for the Bank’s landmark Rs. 15 billion Green Bond issued in 2025 to fund sustainability-linked projects.

Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge said: “These awards are a powerful affirmation of the strength and balance of our strategy, one that is anchored in financial performance, deep customer relationships, technology-driven innovation and an unwavering commitment to sustainable growth.”

“What makes this recognition especially meaningful is its breadth, spanning private banking, SME banking, AI-led transformation, green finance and sophisticated corporate transactions. It reflects the collective effort of our teams and the trust placed in us by our customers, and reinforces our role as a bank that not only leads in performance, but also in shaping the future of banking in Sri Lanka and beyond.”

The Asian Banking and Finance Awards are among the region’s most respected platforms recognising excellence, innovation, and leadership in financial services. Commercial Bank’s performance this year is particularly significant, signalling a well-rounded and resilient franchise that demonstrates excellence in multiple domains.

Kandy Royals led by former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews despite breaking their jinx of not winning a match in the first round at the SSC, continued to labour at the bottom of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) standings when they suffered their third defeat in the tournament going down by 23 runs to Colombo Kaps in the first of two matches played at the Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Kandy Royals’ run chase was hampered by a calf strain to Mathews who came to bat at the fall of the seventh wicket due to the injury, with his side needing 98 off the last seven overs. He tried his best to get his team over the line scoring 39* off 24 balls (5 fours, 1 six) but Shahnawaz Dahani and James Neesham who bowled the final two overs ensured Colombo Kaps won quite comfortably.

Mathews is the second captain in the ongoing LPL to suffer an injury. Colombo Kaps skipper Kusal Mendis has already been ruled out of the tournament with a damaged hamstring.

Dale Phillips (38 off 27 balls) and Vijay Shankar (30 off 23) scored 30s apiece for Colombo Kaps but the rest of the batting faltered against some excellent bowling from off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman who ended up taking 3/34 and Wanuja Sahan who was economical in his four overs (1/24).

Colombo Kaps’ bowlers were not under too much pressure because their batters gave them the freedom to attack with the ball more aggressively and execute their plans.

Rubin Hermann was at the top of his form playing plenty of eye-catching strokes in his innings of 53 off 36 balls (7 fours, 1 six) and Player of the Match Janith Liyanage hit a crucial half-century (52* off 33 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) to help Colombo Kaps post a respectable total of 192-9. James Neesham (24 off 10) and Binura Fernando (21 off 13) also made handy contributions.

Shahin Afridi picked up the key wickets of Kamindu Mendis and Wanuja Sahan with a disciplined bowling performance while Wanindu Hasaranga and Nuwan Thushara were most economical. – [ST]

Scores:

Colombo Kaps 192-9 (20) (Rubin Hermann 53, Janith Liyanage 52*, James Neesham 24, Binura Fernando 21, Shaheen Afridi 2/34, Moeen Ali 2/31, Dushan Hemantha 2/20) vs. Kandy Royals 169-8 (20) (Dale Phillips 38, Vijay Shankar 30, Angelo Mathews 39*, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/34)

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appeared before the Court of Appeal yesterday as the court resumed hearing his writ petition seeking an order preventing his arrest and detention.

The petition came up for further consideration before a two-judge bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysooriya and Justice Sarath Dissanayake.

Rajapaksa was present in court to observe the proceedings.

The matter was last heard on 9 July, when the bench concluded a fourth consecutive day of hearings before adjourning the case until yesterday for further consideration.

Through the petition, Rajapaksa is seeking a writ preventing his arrest and detention.

The Court of Appeal is continuing to hear submissions in the matter.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will host a business networking session with a 30-member delegation from the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on 28 July, offering Sri Lankan companies an opportunity to explore trade, investment and partnership opportunities with Indian businesses.

The delegation represents a broad cross-section of Indian industry, including manufacturing, construction, engineering and infrastructure, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT and digital services, renewable energy, agriculture, travel and tourism, water treatment, consultancy, industrial minerals, food processing, brewery, distillery and winery, exports and immigration services, fine arts and heritage, and sports products.

The Chamber said the session is intended to facilitate direct business-to-business engagements, enabling participants to identify commercial opportunities, discuss potential collaborations and establish new cross-border partnerships.

The event is being organised in collaboration with the Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ILCCI), which operates under the Ceylon Chamber’s network to promote bilateral business engagement.

The networking session will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on 28 July at the Hilton Colombo Residences. Interested businesses are invited to register in advance as participation is subject to availability.

The 2nd Annual Dilmah One Earth Photography Competition has concluded, offering a candid look at the relationship between nature and humanity.

This year, the initiative invited participants to move beyond traditional wildlife photography and document the environments found in backyards, urban neighborhoods, and domestic landscapes.

Following an evaluation by an expert panel, 60 works have been selected for exhibition. These submissions offer a grounded perspective on the themes of ‘Life in a Changing World,’ ‘Biodiversity in Your Backyard,’ and ‘Conservation in Action.’ Rather than capturing idealised landscapes, the collection focuses on the genuine, everyday interactions between human activity and the natural world, highlighting the quiet resilience of species living alongside us in a changing environment.

Dilmah Conservation will host an exhibition of these shortlisted works at Genesis: the Dilmah Centre for a Sustainable Future, 52, Maligawatte Road, Colombo 10, tomorrow (25 July) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The exhibition is intended to be a space for observation and quiet reflection. By presenting these images in the heart of the city, the initiative hopes to encourage visitors to take a closer look at the local biodiversity thriving in our immediate surroundings and to consider the practical challenges of protecting these shared spaces. The collection stands as a modest contribution to the ongoing conversation about how we live alongside nature and the small, deliberate steps we can take toward sustainability.

Dilmah Conservation extended its gratitude to all participants for their time and contribution to this project and Dr. Rishani Gunasinghe, Mendis Wickremasinghe, Mohan Fernando and Mahesh De Silva for judging the entries

The public is invited to visit the exhibition at Genesis to view the selection and engage with the themes of the competition.

Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday cautioned that the Government’s latest import control regulations risk imposing additional compliance costs on legitimate businesses while failing to address the institutional weaknesses that enabled approximately $ 715 million to leave Sri Lanka through fraudulent advance import payments.

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on new regulations issued under the Import and Export (Control) Act, Dr. de Silva argued that the primary failure lay in weak enforcement and poor coordination among State agencies rather than gaps in legislation.

“The problem lies within a system called the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) system. The ASYCUDA system cannot reconcile the Customs declaration document with the banking transaction document,” he told Parliament.

Dr. de Silva said investigations by Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) had shown that intelligence generated by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on trade-based money laundering risks had not been effectively acted upon by relevant agencies.

He said the Committee had also uncovered serious weaknesses in implementation, including banks processing transactions without properly recording mandatory Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) and shell companies being incorporated with little or no meaningful verification of their ownership or operating addresses.

“Because there is no coordination, these thieves slip through the cracks. And when thieves slip through, instead of enforcing the existing law, you bring in new laws,” Dr. de Silva said.

He warned that requiring importers to register separately with multiple State institutions would add administrative costs and delays for compliant businesses without necessarily preventing fraudulent transactions.

The regulations, presented by Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, require importers making advance payments to register with Sri Lanka Customs before banks process remittances. Banks must also obtain additional information, including beneficiary details, a Unique Identification Number (UIN), and the importer’s TIN, which Customs officials allege some banks failed to provide even after the rules were gazetted.

The measures follow investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which found that approximately $ 715 million had been remitted overseas between 2023 and 2026 through advance payments for imports that never materialised.

Dialog Axiata has strengthened its commitment to the nation’s Olympic aspirations by becoming the Official Telecommunications Partner of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Through this landmark partnership, Dialog will support Sri Lanka’s athletes on their journey to the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Olympic Games, reaffirming its commitment to nurturing sporting excellence and helping local athletes compete on the world stage.

The partnership comes at a time when Sri Lanka is in a strong position to create history, with javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga emerging as one of the country’s leading medal prospects following his outstanding performances on the global stage. Sri Lanka has won two Olympic medals in its history, with Duncan White claiming silver in the men’s 400m hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics and Susanthika Jayasinghe winning silver in the women’s 200m at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

“For over two decades, Dialog has remained committed to powering Sri Lankan sports, believing in its ability to unite the nation and inspire generations. Our partnership with the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka reflects our continued investment in helping athletes pursue excellence on the international stage. As Team Sri Lanka begins its journey at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and continues on the Road to Los Angeles Olympics 2028, we are proud to stand alongside our athletes, powering the Nation’s Quest for Gold and supporting their pursuit of sporting excellence and national pride,” said Dialog Axiata Group Chief Marketing Officer Lasantha Theverapperuma.

Commenting on the partnership, National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka President Asanga Seneviratne said: “Our vision is to connect every Sri Lankan through the power of sport, creating opportunities that inspire, unite, and uplift communities across the nation. Together with Dialog, we are investing in the next generation, empowering young people to dream fearlessly, achieve excellence, and proudly represent Sri Lanka on the world stage.”

Dialog Axiata is the proud sponsor of the National Cricket, Volleyball and Esports teams. Dialog is also the primary sponsor of Sri Lanka Golf Open and Paralympic sports by powering the National Para Games, and the Sri Lankan contingent to the World Paralympic Games. Further, in line with its commitment towards powering the champions of tomorrow, the company has a close association with the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, National Junior and Senior Netball tourneys, and Schools Rugby.

The most common question I’m asked by parents and students has a surprising answer: yes, but not for the reasons you think, and not the version being taught today.

Every few weeks, a parent asks me the same question. Sometimes it comes at a family gathering, sometimes after a conference talk, sometimes in a LinkedIn message from a stranger: “My son is doing his A/Ls. Should he still do computer science? Won’t AI take all those jobs?”

It is the right question, asked for the right reasons, and it deserves a straight answer: not the reassurance the industry usually offers, and not the doom the headlines sell.

My answer is yes. Learn computer science. But understand what you are actually signing up for, because the profession you are entering will not resemble the one your seniors joined, and the version of computer science that most institutions still teach is preparing students for jobs that are quietly dissolving.

The job that is disappearing is not “Software Engineer”; it is “the specialist cog”.

For fifty years, software was assembled like a factory product. Requirements were written, handed to designers, handed to front-end developers, handed to back-end developers, handed to testers, handed to operations. Each handoff was a translation, and each translation lost meaning. We built entire org charts, and entire university curricula, around these silos. Front-end. Back-end. QA. DevOps.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: those silos existed because of human cognitive limits. No single person could hold the full stack in their head and stay productive. So, we divided the work in the name of specializing and increasing efficiency, but a different time is upon us now and we must act accordingly.

AI removes the reason for the division. When an engineer works alongside capable AI agents, one person can carry a product from intent to production, designing, building, testing, and deploying, holding the full context the whole way through. At Aventude, we call these people omni-stack engineers, and we have restructured our own delivery around small pods of them working with AI agents as peers, under a framework we developed called AISDLC.

The results are not theoretical. For a Stockholm-based construction logistics client, work conventionally estimated at two and a half years will now be delivered in roughly six months, not by working harder, but by removing the assembly line entirely. That compression is now the baseline against which global clients price software delivery. So, the honest career advice is this: the market will need fewer people who can only do one slice of the work, and it will pay a premium for people who can own the whole.

But is AI actually replacing engineers? The data says something more interesting.

If you only read headlines, you would believe AI writes flawless software and engineers are obsolete. The independent evidence tells a more useful story.

A randomised controlled trial by METR found that experienced developers using AI tools believed they were working about 20% faster, while the measured reality was quite different. The perception gap between how productive AI makes us feel and how productive it makes us is real and dangerous. GitClear’s analysis of hundreds of millions of lines of code found that AI-assisted codebases show record levels of duplicated code, with refactoring, the disciplined craft of improving existing code, collapsing to historic lows. Google’s DORA research found that AI adoption improved code quality at the micro level while reducing delivery stability, because AI lets teams ship larger changes faster, and larger changes break more things. And in developer surveys, the single most cited frustration with AI is code that is “almost right, but not quite,” which is more expensive to debug than code written from scratch.

Read that evidence carefully and you will see what I see: AI does not eliminate the need for engineering judgment. It concentrates it. When a machine can generate ten thousand plausible lines of code in a minute, the scarce skill is no longer typing the code. It is knowing whether the code is right: whether the architecture will hold, whether the requirement was even the correct one, whether the “almost right” answer will quietly corrupt a business process six months from now.

That judgment is precisely what a real computer science education builds. Data structures, systems thinking, complexity, trade-offs, correctness: these were never about syntax. They are the foundations of taste, and taste is what separates the engineer who directs AI from the operator who is directed by it.

Software won’t be built. It will form.

At Aventude, and through Skarpa, the AI-native future work platform, we operate on a thesis that sounds radical until you watch it in practice: software is stopping being a manufactured artefact and becoming something closer to a living system. Business intent goes in; understanding forms; working software grows around an organisation’s accumulated knowledge, continuously, accountably, with humans and AI agents sharing responsibility rather than one merely operating the other.

In that world, the valuable human is not the one who memorised a framework that will be obsolete in eighteen months. It is the one who can absorb a messy business problem, structure it, set the guardrails within which agents operate, and exercise final judgment over what ships. Deep specialists do not disappear; they are repositioned as the judgment layer: the architect who defines constraints, the security expert who audits, the domain expert whose knowledge the whole system learns from. That is a promotion, not a redundancy.

I will offer one honest concession, because credibility demands it: omni-stack does not mean uniform depth. There will always be moments that need a genuine specialist: a brutal database performance problem, a security review, a regulatory audit. The future team is T-shaped people whose horizontal reach is extended by AI, supported by a thin layer of deep experts.

What this means for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s ICT and BPM sector earned an official US$1.65 billion in export revenue in 2025, with industry leaders arguing the real figure is considerably higher once offshore billing and freelance income are counted. It employs well over a hundred thousand people. It is one of the very few export industries that grew through every crisis this country has faced.

But much of that industry was built on a model the world is abandoning: selling engineering hours in silos. Headcount-based delivery. The body shop. If AI compresses a 2.5-year build into six months, a business model that bills by the person-month is not disrupted at the margins; it is inverted. The countries that win the next decade of software will be the ones whose engineers sell judgment, ownership, and outcomes, not hours.

That is a threat to the industry we have. It is an extraordinary opportunity for the industry we could build. An engineer in Colombo with strong fundamentals, communication and creative thinking skills, AI fluency, and end-to-end ownership skills can now deliver what previously required a team of eight in a Western capital. Geography has never mattered less. Judgment has never mattered more.

So, should you learn computer science?

Yes. But hear the fine print.

Do not learn it to become a “front-end developer” or a “manual tester.” Those titles are already melting. Learn it to become someone who understands systems deeply enough to direct machines that write code faster than any human ever will. Study the fundamentals hard: algorithms, architecture, data, security, because fundamentals are the only part of the curriculum that AI makes more valuable. Learn the business domains software serves, because translating human intent into working systems is the job that remains when typing is free. And treat AI tools not as an exam shortcut but as the colleague you will spend your entire career learning to lead.

The question was never really “should I learn computer science?” The question is whether you want to spend your career executing instructions or exercising judgment. AI has made the first path precarious and the second more valuable than at any point in the history of this industry.

Learn computer science. Then learn to be irreplaceable within it.

As the Capital Maharaja Group enters the final stretch towards its centenary year, Chairman Sashi Rajamahendran believes the organisation’s greatest asset is not its brands, buildings nor financial performance, but the culture of leadership and trust that has been built over generations.

That philosophy was at the heart of the Capital Maharaja Group’s Executive of the Year 2026 Awards, where leadership at every level of the organisation was celebrated as the driving force behind the Group’s continued success. The chairman said such leadership was not created overnight but cultivated over years and decades, creating a self-sustaining culture in which leaders develop future leaders and earn the trust and respect of both management and their peers.

More than 1,700 executives, business leaders, diplomats, government representatives and partners gathered at Stein Studios in Ratmalana for the awards ceremony, which coincided with the Group celebrating the strongest financial performance in its history. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya attended the event as Chief Guest. Also attending the event was Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar.

The Group recorded 17% growth during the year, driven by strong performances across its diversified businesses. Among the year’s notable achievements were S-lon’s expansion into AgriTech and water purification, PE Plus regaining market leadership in water tanks while strengthening its position in PVC ceilings and wall cladding, Kevilton securing market leadership in wiring devices, continued international growth across the Group’s tea businesses, ICL building on EVA’s Superbrand recognition, Harcros returning to growth in the agricultural sector and M Entertainments expanding Sri Lankan music into international markets through new global partnerships.

Yet despite the record performance, Rajamahendran devoted his address not to financial success, but to a broader reflection on leadership, institutional resilience and the values that have sustained the organisation for nearly a century.

For him, the answer lies in leadership, not as authority or achievement, but as the ability to earn trust over time. “Achievement is never really the story. Leadership is,” he told the audience.

The philosophy was shaped by one of the darkest periods in the Group’s history. Reflecting on the events of July 1983, the chairman recalled how many of the Group’s factories and properties came under violent attack during the riots. While physical assets were destroyed, something far more valuable remained intact.

“In 1983, this Group lost many things. But it did not lose its people. They stood beside the Group. And the group stood beside them.”

He described that period as the defining chapter in the organisation’s history, arguing that institutions are ultimately built not on infrastructure or financial strength but on shared values, loyalty and relationships that endure during difficult times.

As the Group approaches its 100th anniversary in just four years, he said each generation carries the responsibility not merely to preserve that legacy but to strengthen it before passing it on.

That same philosophy shaped his reflections on leadership. Quoting former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, Rajamahendran reminded the audience that “the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,” reiterating that meaningful work, not titles or recognition, ultimately defines successful leaders.

Judgement, integrity, empathy and the willingness to stand beside people during difficult times, he said, matter far more than individual achievement. His remarks also extended beyond the organisation itself to Sri Lanka’s broader recovery.

Reflecting on the country’s progress over the past year, Rajamahendran acknowledged the role played by the Government, the Central Bank, financial institutions, businesses and ordinary citizens in rebuilding confidence despite continuing global uncertainty, including conflict in the Middle East and the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

National progress, he observed, is rarely created by one institution acting alone. It depends on many institutions functioning effectively together. Cyclone Ditwah provided one of the clearest demonstrations of that principle.

“When disaster strikes, people do not simply look for information,” he said. “They look for institutions they trust.”

He cited the Group’s Gammadda initiative, which coordinated relief operations by land, sea and air following the disaster, as an example of Government agencies, the armed forces, volunteers, private organisations and ordinary citizens working together towards a common purpose.

“What stayed with me most was the willingness of the armed forces, volunteers, private organisations and ordinary Sri Lankans to come together,” he said. “Just as importantly, there was trust, there was cooperation from the Government, and there was room for each institution to play its part. In moments of national need, there are no competing agendas.”

Rajamahendran also acknowledged the continued support of the Minderoo Foundation, describing its partnership with Gammadda as a reflection of international confidence earned through years of consistent work. He also highlighted the Walk of Peace, led by Ven. Panyakaara Thero, as another example of institutions bringing communities together through a shared national purpose.

The emphasis on leadership and institutional strength was also reflected in the Group’s own succession planning, with several senior leadership appointments announced during the evening. The Group announced senior appointments including Tamara Kudaliyanage as Chief Information Officer, Buddhi Wickramanayake as Chief Executive Officer of MBC Networks and Ravi Gamage as Group Director responsible for Human Resources.

The evening’s highest honour, Executive of the Year 2026, was presented to Buddhi Wickramanayake in recognition of his leadership in driving new growth and profitability across MBC Networks.

Also shortlisted were CEO – Chemicals Chandima Atukorale, CEO – Tuffline Neomi Nalawansa, CEO – Kevilton Samantha Alwis, and Sirasa TV General Manager – Sales Kalpani Somapala, reflecting the depth of executive leadership developing across the Group.

Closing the evening, Rajamahendran returned to a philosophy that has defined the organisation for decades: “The Courage to be Different.” He argued that the phrase is far more than a corporate slogan. Every generation, he said, must earn it anew.

The generation that rebuilt the Group after 1983 earned it. Those who steered it through years of economic uncertainty, the pandemic and Sri Lanka’s financial crisis earned it as well. Today’s leaders, he said, now carry that same responsibility.

“Our responsibility is simple,” he concluded. “To leave it stronger than we found it.”

Nearly a century after the Capital Maharaja Group began as a modest manufacturing enterprise, the message resonated far beyond an executive awards ceremony. Institutions are not remembered for the crises they face, but for how they respond to them; and the trust they earn along the way.

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka has been recognised as Sri Lanka’s highest-ranked agency office on the Effie Index 2025, marking the third consecutive year it has secured the No. 1 position among Sri Lankan agencies featured in the Asia Pacific rankings.

The achievement reinforces its role as one of Sri Lanka’s most consistent growth accelerators, helping brands, people and careers grow through strategy, capability and effectiveness.

Published annually by the Effie Worldwide network, the Effie Index is recognised as a global benchmark for marketing effectiveness, ranking agencies, marketers, brands, networks and holding companies based on points accumulated through winning and finalist entries at Effie Awards programmes worldwide.

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka accumulated 124 points as an individual agency office on the Most Effective Agency Offices rankings, earned through metal-winning and finalist recognitions across 28 Effie programme entries. The Group also recorded a combined 221 points across six vertical categories featured on the Index.

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka Director and Chief Creative Officer Harendra Uyanage said: “Great creativity has always been about solving real business challenges in ways that connect meaningfully with people. This recognition reflects a culture where ideas are challenged, refined and strengthened through collaboration. At MullenLowe, creativity grows because it is held to a higher standard, pushed by strategy and measured by effectiveness. Every campaign is approached with the belief that creativity must work as hard as it inspires.”

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka retained its position among the Top 100 Most Effective Agency Offices globally and within the Top 20 in the Asia Pacific region. The achievement reflects the Group’s integration of strategy, creativity, public relations, media and digital expertise, enabling teams to deliver commercial impact and lasting brand value.

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Nishant Mehta said: “The Effie Index is one of the most respected measures of effectiveness in our industry because it recognises work that creates tangible outcomes. For us, growth acceleration begins with finding the real business problem, understanding the human behaviour behind it, and creating ideas that move both culture and commerce. Effectiveness must be built into the thinking from the start.”

The recognition comes at a time of significant change for the communications industry, as agencies worldwide adapt to evolving technologies, shifting market conditions and new client expectations.

MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka Human Resources Business Partner Angie Alexander said: “Many organisations in Sri Lanka and around the world are responding to uncertainty by reducing investment in talent. Our belief remains the opposite. Career growth is central to business growth. When people are trained, exposed and trusted with meaningful responsibility, they create stronger work, client relationships and business outcomes.”

The latest Effie Index recognition reflects the collective efforts of MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka’s people, clients and partners. Guided by meaningful ideas, disciplined execution and lasting relationships, the agency continues to create work that delivers measurable impact. As a growth accelerator, it remains focused on advancing brands, creativity and careers.