Sasanka Perera

I will be commencing a new role as a part time lecturer at Oxford College of Business.

Happy to Announce that I will be expanding my responsibilities as a Visiting lecturer for the MBA program of the University of Northampton at HRMI / UNISTEM.

Heads the Go to market Strategy in Sri Lanka and Capability development.

Eminent Accomplishments ◉ Attained a YOY growth of 8% - CAGAR via aligning the team with the vision, facilitating career progression & training/ mentoring. ◉ Implemented an effective/ aggressive workforce remuneration package, ensuing in substantial sales growth & staff gratification. ◉ Emerged as the market leader in volumes/ value as per research by AC Nielsen by comprehending the competitive landscape & infiltrating accordingly. ◉ Achieved the highest ever market share in a month after 15 years via exceptional strategy execution. ◉ Enhanced the overall contribution from 20% to 100% via implementing automation. ◉ Under my purview, 3 out of 7 ASM’s were elevated to the position of RSM & 7 Sales Executives to the position of Area Sales Executives. ◉ Diminished discount spends by 4% & increased distributor profitability by 6%. ◉ Bagged ‘Best Regional Sales Manager’ award in 2019. ◉ Bagged the Gold Award for ‘Best Regional Sales Manager’, conducted by NASCO SLIM. ◉ Bounced back to market leader position & sustained the distributors, despite a 4-month plant shut down. JD ◉ Reporting to NSM & leading a team of 06 ASM’s, 19 SE’s, & 132 Sales Reps, which is the largest business unit in the company, consisting of Western/ Southern Province with 38% contribution to the business. ◉ Drive market share, numeric distribution, chilled availability, & sales force automation (SFA). ◉ Managing the distributors & RTM strategies. ◉ Lead, mentor, & develop a high performing regional team, to attain the critical performance metrics & monthly/quarterly/annual budgets. ◉ Research market/ competitor trends & formulate action plans to leverage on market shifts & alter strategies appropriately to attain objectives. ◉ Devise/ execute strategic customer expansion plans in target markets/ segments & evaluate the same to comprehend determinants for future initiatives. ◉ Focus on enhancing competitive positioning, value propositions & market presence.

◉ Drive overall strategy & market development, contributing 12% to the overall business. ◉ Devise/ execute Modern Trade & KA sales strategies, growth plans & revenue goals aligning with corporate business objectives. ◉ Direct resources for portfolio expansion plans & negotiate in-store activations/ merchandising/ sell-out plans via a Joint Business Plan execution. ◉ Directing profitability, in-store global standard execution, selling in & selling out standards & top-line growth for the company. ◉ Handling global account chains such as MacDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, TGIF & local chains such as Keells, Cargill’s & Laugfs from the initial pitching to commercial execution. ◉ Rectify KA trade issues, complaints & operational concerns.

◉ Forge/ execute customer business plans & strategies to the assigned core Unilever (UL) MT customers. ◉ Managing top/ bottom-line feats, growing market shares, joint business planning & driving UL agenda. ◉ Developing 360-degree joint marketing plans, including strategies, concept mechanisms, designs, ATL/ BTL activities & POS materials. ◉ Foster/ lead client relationships to optimize product expansion opportunities & ensure customer gratification. ◉ Handling global account chains such as MacDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, TGIF & local chains such as Keells, Cargill’s & Laugfs from the initial pitching to commercial execution.

◉ Enhance air-time penetration in key customer groups & beyond. ◉ Meticulously manage corporate/ medium/ small-size business client accounts in targeting, penetrating, & launching & retaining their brand image. ◉ Leading, motivating client services/ internal creative media teams to achieve customer gratification. ◉ Assist the Top Brass & other teams on critical issues, media response inquiries, & corporate strategies.

This course is part of a Micro Masters series on EDX in MBA Core Curriculum, offered by the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business.