It has been more than four years since Mr. Kumudu Abayasiri joined the family of Ceyline Holdings as the Director/COO of Oceaneeds (Pvt) Ltd and the success he has brought to the group of companies is almost immeasurable. It is a testament to this that he now heads both Oceaneeds and Ceyline Maritime Services (CMS) and is an integral part to the functioning of the entire group. His accomplishments have garnered him an extremely reputable status and he has become a renowned and respected figure in the shipping industry.
Starting his education at the Royal College in Panadura, he soon realized his hunger to further his education and enrolled at the University of Jayawardenapura where he completed his BSc (Business Administration) and MBA and started on his path to becoming a qualified professional. He spent 13 years in the finance industry in various different capacities accruing the knowledge and experience he would invariably need for a leadership role which he knew would be on the cards in his career trajectory. In 2019 he was offered the position of General Manager at Oceaneeds (Pvt) Ltd and is also currently the Director/COO of Ceyline Maritime Services (Pvt) Ltd, both companies which belong to Ceyline Holdings, the Most Diversified Maritime Group in Sri Lanka. Mr. Abayasiri talks about how the business had only around 10-15 clients when he joined, but by building trust and implementing modern business development models to attract new clients, they now have over 150+.
Boasting a tremendous 35 years of excellence, Ceyline Maritime Services (CMS) acts as the Agent for reputed Ship Owners and Ship Managers providing services in Sri Lanka with offices in Colombo, Galle, Hambantota & Trincomalee. As a responsible shipping agent and port agent, CMS is committed to providing professional port agency services at all ports in Sri Lanka for vessels of any capacity from bulk cargo carriers, naval vessels to passenger cruise lines.
Oceaneeds (Pvt) Ltd was established in 1993 and over the years has become one of the leading Ship Supply Services companies in the country. Oceaneeds was the first ship supplies company in Sri Lanka to be awarded ISO 9002 quality certification. Currently Oceaneeds is certified with ISO 9001 2015 which was awarded by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the Norwegian certification body accredited by RVA of Netherlands.
Mr. Abayasiri also emphasized the fact of how important it was for both companies to not struggle during the pandemic and economic crisis periods as they are both dollar generating companies bringing in much needed foreign currency to our struggling economy. This was achieved with thorough pre planning, only accepting proposals that could be delivered in the expected timeframes and making sure promises were kept. This led to the companies building a solid rapport with their clients, based on trust, which in return gave them the assurance on their business and retaining profits even during the worst of times.
Talking on the leadership structure at the company Mr Abayasiri mentions that the entire organization functions as a family and helps each other through hardships and roadblocks, each member taking on tasks that might not even be a part of their specified job role just to give a helping hand. Each individual’s values and culture are respected and they are really made to feel like part of the family. This helps to streamline operations and makes the company run very smoothly. Mr Abayasiri himself is a very hands-on leader and can be found on the floor or at the ports engaged in the work. The effects of this positive atmosphere and results-driven workforce can be seen in the accolades achieved by Ceyline which recently won 3 extremely prestigious awards at the NCE Exports Awards 2022 organized by the National Chamber of Exporters. These awards are:
- Business and Professional Services Export Sector-Gold Award (Medium Sector)
- Most Outstanding SME Exporter
- Deshabandu Patric Amarasinghe Challenge Trophy
They also won awards at the National Business Excellence Awards 2021 held by the National Chamber of Commerce, they won the overall award for the Shipping and shipping related services Sector, the excellence in business and financial results award in the small category, and the overall winner award in the small category business segment while Oceaneeds won a merit award in the Shipping and shipping related services Sector. Mr. Abayasiri was also celebrated as the recepient of the award for CEO of Business Transformation at the recently held CEO Awards Night 2022.
Looking to the future, Mr Abayasiri was pleased to inform us that the organization is planning for expansions in Dubai and Singapore, this will allow Ceyline to service their existing client base in these ports as per the clients expectations. These ports also handle a much larger volume than ours and capturing just a tiny sector of their markets will boost profits to a major degree and bring in much needed foreign currency to the country. The foundations have been laid and already having an existing partner network in these countries will greatly assist in the transition process. Mr. Abayasiri is confident that the highest services can be provided according to the standards of these countries for the expertise and veteran industry knowledge he can rely on.
Another step forward involving the future is the digitalization of the organization and currently an app is being developed for clients to be able to easily access all solutions at their convenience.
All of this would not be possible without the backing arm of the Ceyline Holdings Group and the constant development support provided. Mr. Abayasiri considers it very fortunate to be under the umbrella of the group and thanks Captain Ajith Peiris, Executive Chairman of the Ceyline Group, and Mr Chathura Lakindu, the Managing Director of the group, for placing so much trust in him. Thanks, must also be given to the super supportive clients who stuck with them through thick and thin, Mr. Abayasiri is extremely grateful for the knowledge acquired by working with such leading organizations and he understands that this helps Ceyline achieve the benchmark in standards and technical systems.
When asked if he had any advice for future generations of leaders, his response was a simple but resounding “Never give up! No matter what kind of adversities you face, never lose your focus and always keep working towards achieving your goals and climbing up the ladder. These are my secrets to success.”