Saranga Goonawardena was elected as the new Chairman at the Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) 22nd Annual General Meeting, held on March 10, 2021, at Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo.  

It was followed by a gala function attended by chief guest Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, ministers, state ministers together with secretaries, government officials and COYLE members. The traditional kiribath was cut by the outgoing and past chairmen of COYLE.

Goonawardena takes over from Chamath Kottage, who held the office for the preceding year. The new Chairman will be ably assisted by Senior Vice Chairman Dimuth Chankama Silva and Vice Chairman Rasith Wickramasingha.

Goonawardena, who assumed duties as the 22nd Chairman of COYLE, started off from mediocre beginnings but had a vision of being successful in life and pursued his dreams in global enterprises. After having pursued a career in civil engineering, he went on to obtain his Master’s in Business Administration from the USA and on proceeding to the USA, he worked in a US  company with 
international exposure. 

Meanwhile, he also stepped into the area of e-commerce. Having received exposure in international organisations and in e-commerce, he returned to Sri Lanka and ventured into the unique industry of protective packaging and is presently Managing Director of TNG Packaging (Pvt.) Ltd and TN Global (Pvt.) Ltd.  

Goonawardena in his speech stated, “It is with a deep sense of pride that I take on the reins of COYLE, which has taken on yet another challenging chapter in its 22-year journey. The close affiliations we have sustained with government agencies and foreign missions have opened up various avenues for dynamic entrepreneurship in both local and international markets. It is significant that COYLE has been instrumental in reaching mutual consensus on vital issues with successive governments.” 

He added, “COYLE has encouraged its membership to adapt their business models and governance to the new economic, financial and regulatory environment effected by the present pandemic and great progress has been made on all these fronts.”   

Kottage said, “As I transition out of my role as Chairman of COYLE, first and foremost, I would like to thank the past presidents, steering committees and members for bringing the chamber to this standard of influence in the business arena. I am pleased to say I will be leaving you in the capable hands of incoming Chairman for 2021/22 Saranga Goonawardena, who has been involved with us here at COYLE for many years.”

COYLE through its empowering motto ‘Recognition through Excellence’ contributes greatly towards the economic development of the country, with a greater emphasis on the Sri Lankan business community.