PIM hosts second biennial memorial oration in honour of Prof. Uditha Liyanage

The Postgraduate Institute of Management Alumni Association (PIMA), Sri Lanka’s most active and largest body of MBA alumni in Sri Lanka, with a network of 5000 professionals and positioned as a leading think tank of a profound community of thought leaders in business, recently conducted the second biennial memorial oration programme to honour the memory of Sri Lanka’s pioneering marketing guru, the late Prof. Uditha Liyanage. 

PIMA had the privilege of Prof. Liyanage being part of its faculty for over 20 years, becoming its Director and Chairman of the institute’s board of management, as well as a key driving force of the institute as a teacher, marketing mentor and advisor to both the faculty and senior professionals who graduated from PIM as well as the PIM Alumni. The event was attended by many leading marketing and management professionals of the country, who were his former students, including attendees from PIMA, PIM, Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM).

Paying tribute to the many contributions Prof. Liyanage made to the profession in the development of marketing practices and marketing education in the country, PIM Director Dr. Kelum Gamage delivered the welcome address, noting with reverence that “he was a visionary leader and a great asset to the nation”.

Prof. Linanage’s family members, including his wife Shriyani Liyanage and daughter Chathuri Liyanage were warmly welcomed to the event as their renowned patriarch was celebrated and remembered. 

The welcome address was proceeded by the garlanding of a portrait of the late professor by his daughter, Chathuri Liyanage. The attendees fondly remembered the life and work of the professor as they watched a video prepared in his honour by the key organisers of the event, who had associated and worked with the Professor closely in many of his activities at the institute.

Chief orator at the event, Sri Lankan business titan Dr. Hans Wijesuriya, a close friend and associate of Prof. Liyanage, delivered an impassioned oration in his honour and stated, “It was a humbling experience to be in his company and bounce ideas off him from time to time. It was also an honour for me to join him on several occasions and share ideas with his students, which I treasure as both a fond memory and an enriching experience.” 

He continued to speak of inclusion, plurality, equity and social empowerment, as something both he and Prof. Liyanage firmly believed in, in the pursuit of value creation.

The event was a fitting celebration of the life and work of a man that was a true credit to the country and to those he worked alongside. Dr. Wijesuriya’s address underscored the importance of this, as he spoke of the professor’s contributions not only as a competitive business person but one as a tremendous human being.