Dr. Indunil Liyanage receiving the National Apex Award for Marketing from President Maithripala Sirisena in the presence of OPA President Prof. Rohana Kuruppu and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya  

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Dr. Indunil Liyanage received the prestigious National APEX Award (Pinnacle Award) 2016 from Present Maithripala Sirisena. 

The event was organised by the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA). 
This prestigious award was presented to eminent professionals in Sri Lanka those who have contributed to the development of their own field of professions and to the society and achieved the pinnacle of their professional career. 
The award ceremony was conducted at the OPA 29th Annual Conference 2016 held at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo in the presence of a distinguish gathering on the 4th October 2016. 
The award ceremony was held during the inauguration ceremony of the 29th Annual Conference 2016 – ‘Good Governance – the Way Forward’. The chief guest was President Maithripala Sirisena and the guest of honour was Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. 
The welcome speech was made by OPA President Prof. Rohana Kuruppu and the keynote speech was made by UNDP Country Director Jorn Sorensen. Second National APEX Awards 2016 Panel of Judges Chairman Prof. Willie Mendis also addressed the gathering. 
There were 10 National Apex Awards (Pinnacle awards) categories namely, finance and banking, legal, management, economic and statistics, engineering services, health and medical services, marketing and hospitality, science and technology, agriculture and veterinary and maritime and defence. 
Out of 10 categories there were only seven categories were chosen for the National APEX Awards this year. Dr. Liyanage was selected for the Marketing category where he counts over 27 years of marketing experience in combination of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), electronics, agriculture and financial services industry in 
Sri Lanka. 
Throughout his marketing career, he has built several key international and local brands/products in the country. He has held senior positions in multinationals and local organisations in the capacity of Product/Brand Manager, Marketing Manager, Assistant Vice President – Head of Marketing positions and currently he is a member of the BOC corporate management team. 

This national pinnacle award recognises his impressive career record, academic and professional achievements. His career experience covers many organisations including private and public sector since 1989. 

He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS), University of Colombo. Dr. Liyanage holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. 
Also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK. He is a Chartered Marketer since 1997 attached to the first batch of Chartered Marketers in Sri Lanka. He was awarded the Fellowship (FCIM) of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (U.K) and the Fellowship (FSLIM) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) for his outstanding contribution made to the marketing profession in Sri Lanka. 

Dr. Liyanage is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK) since 1995 and member of Alumni Associations of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Colombo and Faculty of Graduate Studies of University of Colombo. 

He was the first Sri Lankan selected for ‘Intercultural Education for Global Managers’ programme at the Japan America Institute of Management Science (JAIMS) in Hawaii, USA. 
He was awarded a full scholarship by the Fujitsu Foundation of Japan to complete this programme, in recognition of his academic excellence and potential contribution to international understanding and goodwill in 1996. 

Dr. Liyanage has been honoured with the ‘50 Most Talented CMOs Award’ at the Golden Globe Tiger Awards 2013 at the World Marketing Summit (WMS) held at Putrajaya International Convention (PICC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2013 and also awarded “100 Most Influential Marketing Leaders Listing” at the World Marketing Congress 2015 held in Mumbai, India.