Stronger together, Stronger than ever.

I'm just completing 6 months at JXG | Janashakthi Group . I feel like I have worked here longer. When I joined the group last year, one of the main tasks given to me was to execute the JXG launch, which was planned for April 2022. This was called off at the last minute as the situation of the country wasn't conducive and we all know the details of that. The new date was fixed for 5th April 2024. The context from 2022 has changed drastically, as it wasn't a 'launch'. The Brand was already out there. Amidst all other projects on my plate, My mind started wondering and it brought me back great memories of Etisalat Sri Lanka launch. More importantly the involvement of staff in that launch. I felt high degree of energy immediately and started drafting a plan. Lot of credit to Manindri Bandaranayake & Sue Fonseka for initial concepts for JXG launch, which made my life easy. I didn't have to recreate stuff. All had to do was adjust stuff to make it relevant to the current context. So this wasn't going to be the launch. Then? it was positioned as a Staff convention, where we wanted to connect all employees of our group on a common thread and showcase the synergy of our group. For many employees this was going to be a unique moment where they get to meet all other business unit staff, whom they wont meet in usual circumstances. Many who work remotely in branches have never had the chance to experience the sheer size of the group.

My initial draft of the plan was presented to Managing Director/ Group CEO Ramesh Schaffter and we agreed on the way forward. I proposed few changes to the original plan and it was well received by him. I had the pleasure of working with Ramesh for some time back in 2005-2008. Therefore it was quite easy for me to synchronize our thoughts to a common direction. I got his fullest backing to execute this plan. His overall vision for JXG and in particular for this event was provided a solid foundation for us to build on.

Had to navigate through multiple challenges. Firstly, the timing. We only had approximately 3 months and few days to do all the work. It looks quite easy from outside, but to get 1000 + people from different Business Units who were built on their sub cultures was a mammoth task. We had to give them a reason to look forward to. Therein the activities were multifold. Secondly the availability of resources. I had a small team of highly skilled individuals. The advantage was they all had a positive attitude, which was the key difference. Thirdly the cost. From 2022, the cost has escalated drastically and I had to manage a tight budget, without compromising of the quality and size of the event.

I managed to set up a team with 3 members from Marketing ( That's all I had) and Business partners from Janashakthi Insurance, First Capital and Orient Finance. Based on skills I managed to pick members for the committee from Legal, IT, HR and M&A. Later down the road Sashi Schaffter joined the marketing team and added a lot of value which is unmeasurable. This event it self extended her stay at Marketing despite she was in a General management program where she had to cover other divisions. Had the privilege of adding people like Nanoj Yogarajan and Chamoda Jayaruwan to the team with only 2 weeks to go for the event.

I discussed with the team on changes and with their creative input we added many new items and innovations to the event. We wanted keep the event sleek, and tight with each item to bring in a 'wow' effect. We used many assets created for 2022. Edited and made changes for several. We kicked off work in December ( just few days prior to Christmas). However as usual cycle goes for a new team ( forming, storming, norming, performing) we ran in to a storm by mid March. All these work were done amidst many other large scale projects such as New office opening, Strategic Planning sessions etc. We re-looked at proposed budgets, and had to take some tough calls to manage amidst the increased cost of all items. Compared to increased market rate, our actual increase was marginal.

fast forward to 6th April, I had a sigh of relief, with overwhelming positive comments. All I could think and thank was my able team who delivered. I was like the music conductor, but each of them performed at their best and harmonized to bring out a beautiful melody. JXG Staff Summit was a resounding success. All credit goes to the team who are on this picture Kelum Weerasinghe Fahad Fazly Sashi Schaffter Dilini Pathirage Randinith Madanayake Jude Silva Nanoj Yogarajan Chamoda Jayaruwan Thesula Rambadagalla Inuri Goonetilleke Krishanth Sivalingam Dayagaran Muthulingam Nicole Smoker

There were many others who helped the core team and especially on the day. a I deeply regret for not being able to name each of them. The support I got from the shared services heads Wasanthi Stephen (AAL- CMCIPM - PCC) Harshanee Deshapriya Thanushka Jayasundera Malith Pathirana K V Kuganathan was amazing, without who's support we wouldn't have gotten through. A fantastic event production will not be possible without a capable event management team like Ants work. My gratitude to Saliya Weerasekara and his team.

It proved to me over and over again during this project that we are #strongertogether #striongerthanever