Leadership in today’s world is measured less by titles and more by trust, conviction, and the ability to mobilize people toward a shared vision. Few embody this philosophy as clearly as Athula Ranwala, Chief Executive Officer of Martin Bauer Hayleys Ltd., who has spent over three decades navigating the global food industry while driving transformation at both organizational and sectoral levels. His journey testifies that enduring leadership is built on principles, sharpened through challenges, and tested by the relentless pace of change.
Reflecting on his career, Athula emphasizes that leadership is not defined by authority but by example. “People respond more to how you behave than to what you instruct,” he says, recalling his early years as a young manager in the UK. Meeting deadlines, upholding professional integrity, and handling challenges with consistency became his foundation. Equally, he learned that clarity of purpose empowers teams to deliver far beyond expectations. This clarity coupled with empowerment and continuous learning from experiences across Thailand, Japan, Denmark, and elsewhere has enabled him to lead diverse teams while adapting global insights to the Sri Lankan context. But for Athula, relationships have always mattered as much as results. “Achieving business success is important, but building trust and long-term partnerships with people has been the true measure of leadership for me,” he reflects. This blend of discipline and empathy forms the backbone of his leadership style.
The question of empowerment is central to Athula’s leadership philosophy. He cautions that empowerment without accountability leads to drift, while accountability without empowerment breeds fear. The balance, he insists, lies in clarity. He recalls his time as a Plant Manager overseeing a critical production run for a high-value client. By empowering his team to design their own process improvements, he enabled ownership and creativity. The results were outstanding, not only did the team deliver flawlessly, but they also redefined what efficiency could look like. However, this empowerment was paired with transparency in targets, roles, and outcomes. Regular feedback made accountability a developmental tool, not a punitive one. Recognition extended beyond hitting numbers to include creativity, problem-solving, and discipline. This approach, Athula believes, is what inspires people to rise to the highest standards consistently.
As CEO of Martin Bauer Hayleys, a joint venture with a global partner, Athula has had a front row seat to how swiftly global food and beverage trends reshape local markets. Health, wellness, and sustainability are no longer niche, they are mainstream drivers of consumer demand. In Sri Lanka, this trend dovetails perfectly with the nation’s heritage in tea, spices, coconut, and herbal ingredients. The rise of functional and natural wellness beverages, for example, provides enormous opportunities for local producers to innovate and capture both domestic and export markets. At the same time, global exposure has
highlighted shifts toward convenience driven solutions. Insights from his time in Singapore and Japan showed how ready-to-eat and on-the-go formats could be adapted to Sri Lankan affordability and taste preferences. Sustainability, meanwhile, is reshaping industry standards globally. Buyers are demanding traceability, eco-friendly packaging, and ethical sourcing. While this raises the bar for Sri Lankan producers, Athula sees it as an opportunity. Authenticity rooted in Sri Lanka’s agricultural heritage, if coupled with sustainability, can become a powerful differentiator in premium global markets.
For Athula, innovation is not optional, it is existential. “Innovation has always been the difference between standing still and staying ahead,” he stresses. From his experience in Europe, he saw how automation and lean manufacturing revolutionized efficiency. Introducing similar practices in Sri Lanka required adaptation but proved that process innovation can simultaneously reduce waste and improve productivity. On the product front, consumer demand for health and wellness makes innovation critical. From functional teas to eco-friendly packaging, the winners will be those willing to rethink old models. He notes that sustainability itself is now a frontier for innovation, whether through renewable energy investments or smarter waste management practices that lower costs while enhancing environmental credibility. But innovation, in his view, is most powerful when it is cultural. The most competitive organizations are those where every employee, from the factory floor to the boardroom, feels empowered to contribute ideas for improvement. Embedding this mindset ensures resilience in the face of shifting market dynamics.
Looking forward, Athula is both optimistic and pragmatic about Sri Lanka’s food industry. The opportunities are vast: an enviable agricultural base, rising global demand for nutraceuticals and functional foods, and digital platforms that connect producers directly to international consumers. With strong branding around origin and authenticity, Sri Lanka can position itself as a trusted global player in wellness-oriented food and beverages. However, challenges loom large. Rising input costs, climate change, and supply chain vulnerabilities threaten profitability. Athula has already seen how erratic weather disrupts raw material supply chains in the tea industry. International compliance standards in food safety and sustainability demand constant investment. Perhaps most critically, the industry must attract and retain skilled talent capable of navigating advanced food technologies and global regulatory frameworks. The solution, he argues, lies in foresightful leadership. Leaders must invest not only in technology but in people, forging international partnerships while building local resilience. Above all, sustainability must shift from being an add-on to becoming embedded in the DNA of operations.
As Athula reflects on his journey, he acknowledges the inevitability of change but emphasizes one constant: industries are built by people, not processes. With heritage, resources, and talent on its side, Sri Lanka has all the ingredients to become a global leader in the food sector. But success will require leadership that can synthesize global insights with local realities, foster accountability while empowering creativity, and champion innovation as a cultural imperative. If the next decade delivers on this vision, Sri Lanka will not merely grow, it will define its place on the global food map.