"I was driven to the Final in a stretch hummer, and made to walk down a red carpet on to stage. Needless to say, I was quite nervous whilst walking up, but, once the presentation started, and even when the questioning began, it got progressively calmer and the process smoother.
Especially as we had three whole days to prepare, we were quite well researched, and couldn't be thrown off easily...but they did try," said exuberant, Lankan "go-getter" Ruveen Dias (25), who was placed first runner-up at the Western Australia Business Icon 2008, held on October 18, at the Midland Railway Workshops, in Perth, Australia.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times, Ruveen speaks of his experience at the competition, future plans and aspirations...
Q: How did you hear about this competition?
A: Basically it was publicised among the universities and business community here and I was nominated by a panel of my lecturers who thought I'd stand a good chance!
Q: What made you apply?
A: The challenge, I guess. I thought if I could actually get somewhere in an Australian competition, I would have achieved something worthwhile during my time down-under!
Q: How many applicants were there?
A: This year, from all the universities in Western Australia, as well as independent young business people, the total applicants were around 300.
Q: When you were shortlisted, what went through your head?
A: Honestly speaking, I was in shock! There were two preliminary rounds before being selected to the top 40 contestants for the main competition. The first round was a short essay on certain business concepts as well as a reform proposal for the Western Australian Government. The second round was a group interview, where in groups of four, you have 40 minutes to come up with, and present a hierarchy of government to deal with an emergency situation in which all forms of society are lost (in this case, a meteor strike) and you're left with only 100 survivors in the State.
The standards were ridiculously high! Each person who was in the preliminary interview stage was amazingly skilled! Even when I got through to the top 40, the first thought when I was in that room was that I'm way out of my league. These people were very talented and razor sharp. I was sceptical that I'd get past the first round, and it came as quite a surprise that I kept advancing!
Q: What was the basic concept of the competition and what were the tasks assigned to you?
A: The first task was to organize an art exhibition and sale for charity in four days. We had to work in teams of ten, whilst organizing the event in an overall group of 40. The conditions were – we had absolutely no budget, and everything down to a printout had to be donated by a real company. We were dealing with real artists, corporate sponsors, logistic companies, venues etc., The first round of eliminations brought the participant count down to 20.
As the second task, we were given three days, to create a marketing campaign to promote a new suburb of Perth that had a notoriously bad image. We were working in groups of five and had to come up with visual concepts (e.g. an ad campaign), target markets, time-line, budget etc., And then, we had to pitch it to the actual City Council of the city in question, which turned out to be the judging panel. Thereafter, we were cut down further to 12.
The third task was to create an attraction and retention plan for a law firm, in two days. Basically, it had to be a strategy to attract the best employees and keep them working for a firm which had a problem with a high staff turnover. Our group of three, had to then pitch it to senior members of the law firm and heads of companies that specialise in this type of campaign. It was following this task that I was short-listed to the Top Four.
The second and third tasks all involved presentations to high powered panels in board rooms. All judging sessions involved question and answer times where each participant was grilled on the task, as well as on group dynamics. In addition, each group is followed around by a group of moderators who monitor and observe participant behaviour, so each person's leadership potential is noted and recorded, right throughout.
Q: How did it feel to make it to the Top Four?
A: It was a major rush! The head judge for all the competitions was Rick Hart, the head of a major retail electronics chain in Australia – a major celebrity. He made the announcement personally and had a little trouble pronouncing my name! The announcement of the Final Four was held at a cocktail at the Hilton. All I remember was hearing my name, very, very loud applause, lots of flash photography, and shaking a lot of hands!
Q: What happened at the Final and the lead-up to it?
A: The Final was incredible. It's a formal dinner with around 450 people in attendance. There was a massive stage, where a massive screen sat, with a podium right in the centre. On either side of the podium sat five judges each. Each of us had to stand in the middle of that stage at the lectern, and deliver a 10 minute presentation based on a Risk Analysis for the Government of Western Australia on the consequences and emergency procedures to be followed in case of a catastrophic loss of diesel supply to the State.
The judges for the final were some of the most powerful people, not only in Western Australia, but the whole country itself.
We had CEO's of major oil and resource companies, food companies, transport sector, university professors and the likes. After the presentation, we each had 10 minutes to answer all questions fired at you by the judges. They make life very, very hard for you, but you tend to forget the 450 people out there, watching you, because you're fully focused on the 'just then and there!'
Tara Franzinelli (18), a scholarship student from Curtin University was announced winner of the competition.
Q: What was the reaction from back home and your university?
A: The reaction from home was amazing! My parents and the rest of my family were awesome and really supportive. They called me every day to wish me luck and ask how things were going. Also my friends who knew about this from back home were really great. They all sent me e-mails and text messages wishing me luck. The lecturers at my university too, were extremely helpful and even bought me a new wardrobe for the competition.
Q: What are your plans now and what are you studying at the moment?
A: I'm in my last few weeks of completing my Degree in Management, at the Edith Cowan University, Perth. Then I'll be home for Christmas and will leave for Melbourne to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University to start on my MBA.
Q: How has this experience helped you broaden your horizons?
A: I've done a lot in my life that has resulted in my travelling the world, and learning countless things. This experience was particularly interesting because nothing in my life thus far has challenged me so much. It seriously redefined what I thought I was capable of. I mean, you ask any industry professional if they could put together an event such as a massive art show in just days, without any budget at all, they'll think you are insane! But it was done.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
A: A part of the senior management at a multinational firm; hopefully something to do with strategic initiatives and Human Resources. Of course, I'd also like to settle down as well, providing I find a very nice young lady!
My main goal in life is to experience everything that is out there! I've studied mathematics, physics, law, psychology and now business. I've played sports for my alma mater St. Joseph's College, acted with the Workshop Players and other theatre groups, sung, debated and represented my country in various fields, several times over! I've worked in both radio and TV and even worked at a law firm.
I've travelled to almost every continent in the world, and now people are beginning to notice me as skilled in different fields, because I believe I've done all these things reasonably well! As I'm pretty young still, I figure I have quite a few more years to do fun stuff. Oh...and at some point, I'd like to be very, very rich!
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