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| Sunday, 23 February 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Personality Plus - The right ingredients for a successful career by LAKMAL WELABADA
A peaceful environment at home is one of the most valuable blessings a man should have, if he is to reach the zenith of his career. "There are a few other facts as well," said Prasanna Perera,'Marketing, Management Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Marketing'. "Choosing the right field as a career, balancing it with experience and academic qualifications and working with devotion and enthusiasm are also important in one's career," he said. Perera, who is 39 years old, has 20 years of experience in marketing. "I started from the lowest level," he recalled. Education After sitting for his Advanced Levels in the Mathematics stream at St. Joseph's College, Colombo, Perera did not intend to continue higher studies. Instead, he was attracted to a new and emerging field in the private sector - Marketing. Career Under the guidance of marketing guru Eardley Perera, whom he recalled with gratitude, Perera began his career at Brown and Company Ltd. After a spell there, he moved to Darley Butler as a Product Manager to handle brands such as BIC razors, VIVA, Maltova, Cow and Gate and Brook Bond Tea. "I was never a sales representative, and was expected to work in an air-conditioned room. But I voluntarily went out to the field with the salesmen. We worked as a team be it sun or rain. this gave me the opportunity of associating with people of all levels in society." He emphasised that his task was not an easy one. However, his enthusiasm was such that it strengthened his foundation as a marketer. Later as Product Manager at Singer, Perera was in charge of electronics and furniture. He then moved on to Hemas as Senior Brand Manager for the cosmetics brands Lakme, Cheramy and Capri. There he got the opportunity of training at the Lakme Academy in India. He also did the spade work for the launch of Clogard in Sri Lanka before he left the company. Perera joined Keells Foods as its Marketing Manager and was promoted as the Marketing Director. In 1998, he joined Tetra Pak, the total solutions company in packaging. He was among the first 15 to be qualified in marketing, with a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in 1985 at a time books and teachers on the subject were not available in the country. Today, Perera is a full time consultant, trainer and lecturer with 13 years experience in lecturing. He lectures for CIM exams at the Institute of Marketing, Institute of National Diploma in Human Resources and the Institute of Chartered Accountants (for the Post Graduate Diploma in Finance and Business Administration) and for the MBA of the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.His services are highly appreciated in the Government educational sector as well. He is a visiting lecturer at many universities including the University of Moratuwa for the Masters in Technology. "Teaching doubles one's knowledge and I am privileged to be a teacher in marketing. I get great satisfaction when I meet a past student," he said humbly. Marketing Perera said the field of marketing does not enjoy its valid status in Sri Lanka. "Just as in the case of a doctor, engineer or lawyer, a marketer also needs special skills." He emphasised that nobody can survive as a sales representative or manager if he/she does not have the inborn talent or develops certain skills such as communication and more importantly listening, analytical skills and knowledge in statistics, empathy for people, understanding of body language, leadership qualities, active and energetic personality and career-minded initiative. Award Perera was the winner of the 'Marketer of the Year' small category Gold Award presented by the CIM in 2001. The honour of receiving the award, according to him, should be shared among two persons; his mother and his wife. "My father died when I was nine years old. I saw the struggle my mother went through to bring me up, her only child. So I never tried to be a trouble to her. This helped me come up in life alone with determination," he said. He further said that a marketer's life need not be chaotic like his. "I am a bad example, but one can plan for evenings and weekends to make your work balanced with the family commitments," he said. Advice Perera requested veterans in the marketing field to come out and share their knowledge with the younger generation as he himself had done. "It would be a great service towards uplifting young marketers," he added. Future plans He wants to establish a facility to manufacture packaging material in Sri lanka. Among his personal plans are continue teaching to guide the young and completing his higher studies. |
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