Upul Bethmage

Visionary operations leader with over 25 years of progressive experience in the tyre manufacturing industry and electronics component manufacturing industry, with proven track records in two leading multinational organizations—CEAT Tyres (Pvt) Ltd, the market leader in Sri Lanka and Noratel International, a leading European Transformers manufacturing group. Currently, I am holding the position of the Operations Director at Noratel Sri Lanka, and my role covers end-to-end operations—from S&Op, production operations, engineering, industrial engineering, quality, HR, operational excellence function, and outbound logistics along with P&L responsibility. Prior to this, I held the role of General Manager – Manufacturing at Noratel and my total experience is in Noratel is 7 years. Before joining Noratel, I dedicated 18 years to CEAT Kelani, where I progressed through multiple roles—from Production Engineer to Senior Production Manager—eventually leading operations at Sri Lanka’s largest tyre manufacturing facilities. My educational foundation includes an honors degree in mathematics and Industrial management and National diploma in Mechanical Engineering. My pursuit of academic excellence culminated the completion of the completion of an MBA and master’s degree in Manufacturing Management. I also complemented my qualifications with a Postgraduate Diploma in Quality Management, a Postgraduate Diploma in Finance Management, and a Diploma in Materials Engineering. My professional development also includes international training exposure across India, Malaysia, Thailand, and China in operational excellence, Lean, TPM, and quality management. I've been a driving force in fostering business and cultural transformation within organizations, helping them adapt and thrive in changing environments. I’ve led several high-impact lean transformations, digitization and automation initiatives, mass quality movements and driven cost-saving projects that delivered measurable results. My leadership contributed to negotiating multiple union agreements with success and to solving many industrial disputes amicably. My experience in crisis management has equipped me with the skills to navigate challenging situations and lead teams towards resilience and growth. I am commercially aware, passionate about continuous improvement, people development, and delivering sustainable business results through operational excellence and strategic thinking. I’m a firm believer in empowering teams, fostering innovation, and driving transformation that aligns with long-term business goals.