Address made by Mr.Rohan Seneviratne, new president of CMBAAA at the 9th AGM held on 7th July 2006.

 

The out going President of Colombo MBA Alumni Association Prasad Jayasuriya, members of the head table, distinguish invitees, fellow members, ladies and gentlemen,

 

I am extremely grateful to the members of the Colombo MBA Alumni Association for the great honour they have bestowed on me by electing me as the President of this Association.  I am fully aware of the many responsibilities that are associated with this trust and honour. I assure you all that I will do my best to meet your expectations and also justify the confidence that has been reposed in me.

 

I joined Colombo MBA Alumni Association in the year 1998 when Sarath Kumarasinghe was the President.  I served under the able leadership of Pushpe, Chris, Neil,  Kalyani and Prasad. I have walked trough a long journey in the Colombo MBA Alumni Association with enthusiasm, excitement and commitment.  I held the posts of Assistant Secretary, Vice President and Deputy President of the Association. These have helped me 11 years after entering the University of Colombo as a MBA student to stand in front of you as the President of this Association.

 

I take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to my predecessors, for their noteworthy contributions in bringing this institution to its present status. In particular, I would like to convey my sincere personal gratitude to the out-going President Prasad Jayasuriya, for his able stewardship which resulted in many development activities of the Colombo MBA Alumni Association.  I assure my predecessors and members of the Colombo MBA Alumni Association that I will give of my best and endeavor to nurture and further the cause of this institution.

 

I look forward to the active assistance and continue cooperation of my colleagues in the Executive Committee so that we could work as a cohesive force to achieve goals. In that respect, I am happy to mention that I am fortunate to have on board to assist me the best executive committee that I can hope for. My fellow alumni members thank you very much for electing this executive committee.

 

My dear members, as the new President who has just been elected you will expect me to say a few words about the activities your association hopes to embark on during the year.  The theme for the year that I have envisaged is ……… 

 

We will facilitate our membership to network, share and gain knowledge and ideas, continue to have mutually beneficial relations with the University in order to maximize the value of the MBA programme and last but not least stimulate enjoyment through our various activities.

 

One of the key words in the theme is staying connected or  networking. Even though Colombo University has produced more than 800 MBA’s, our Association has thus far managed to network only around 250 members. Networking the balance is a challenging task, however I consider this as one of our primary objectives. I solicit your support to enhance our network.

 

Of course networking spills over to the sharing and gaining of knowledge, ideas, experiences. The Alumni will continue to provide opportunities to meet each other. I intend to organize one event every month thus opening up forums and enabling you to network and gain knowledge with greater frequency.

 

An area of great importance which still needs much attention is the enhancing or maximizing of the value of MBA programme. When I say maximizing the value what I am talking about is the image building.  Our vision is “to be the first choice in business governance”. It would be naïve to assume that just because we have an MBA, we will automatically get top jobs or be invited to join decision making processes. While at one level we must of course earn our positions., at another level we compete against other foreign and local postgraduate business degrees.  I am proud to say that one of our alumnus Mr. Lalith Weerathunge is the Secretary to the H.E the President and is holding a top position in decision making process. We need many more such personalities. However, I acknowledge that it is the responsibility of our Association to enhance the value of the MBA programme.  I promise you that we will implement a number of activities which will help our members and specially MBA students to build their leadership and managerial skills, which I believe will help them to earn their due places.

 

To have a very effective year, we need something more. That is your cooperation and assistance as members of Colombo MBA Alumni Association. As the President of Colombo MBA Alumni Association I commit to give the necessary leadership to the Association in such away that all the required assistance and cooperation will be available when required.

 

Let me conclude my speech quoting from the Great Mahathma Gandhi: “ I want to see India free in my life. But God may not consider me fit enough to see the dream of my life fulfilled. Then I shall quarrel, not with Him but with myself”.

 

My dear friends, if I were to repeat this same quotation in my own words, then I will say;

 

“ I want to see that I will fulfill what I promise you today during my term as President. If I fail to do so I shall not quarrel with the Executive Committee,  I shall not quarrel with my fellow members, I shall not quarrel with any other. Then I shall quarrel only with my self”.

 

Thank you.