Today, Sri Lanka lives on the threshold of concluding a war which prolonged for nearly three long decades. End of an ethnic war which cost the country billions of dollars and thousands of human lives will undoubtedly set forth a new era of living, business opportunities and economic conditions.
'Beyond the war' - Building: Human capital, organisation and economy was the very topical discussion at the CEO Forum organised by CIMA The Chartered Institute of Management Accountant in collaboration with SIM The Singapore Institute of Management on 26th of March 2009 at Hilton Colombo.

'When the guns cease to fire, are we ready for peace?' was a very thought provoking question raised by Mourad Mankarios, Principal Coach, SIM at the commencement of his address as the key note speaker at this Forum. Mourad emphasised on the importance being ready to take charge of the controllable factors in pursuit of capitalising on opportunities by development of the talent pool of people and constant innovation to give the extra edge in taking the organisation and the economy beyond the spheres of war. He also focussed on inculcating strong values and exercising transparency, as two vital aspects of leadership in establishing a sustainable eco system. Mourad as the former Chairman and CEO of Philips Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd drew invaluable insight through his varied experience in areas of operations, IT and regulatory framework working in the Middle East, Africa, Netherlands and East Asia.

Mourad's presentation was followed by an enlightening discussion with an eminent panel of business leaders bringing in their wealth of diversified knowledge and experience to this forum. This session was moderated by Nihal Fonseka, Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange. He noted the importance of Foreign Direct Investments in achieving the required level of development and expressed that there's a higher possibility of attracting the necessary capital flow given the end of war. As a panel member Rohantha Athukorala, Director Economic Affairs, Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process provided great insight pertaining to the current economic impact of war. He indicated that the war has cost approximately US $ 20 bn to the economy.

He also focused on the way forward in positioning Sri Lanka in the Global market. As a Panellist Jeevan Thiagarajah, Executive Director, Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, Colombo with his experience in the arena emphasised on the vitality of reconciliation and healing the hearts of people to avoid best laid efforts being derailed. Dr Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chairman, Bank of Ceylon as another member of the panel brought in his insight relating to development of livelihood in the north and east via an agricultural and a knowledge based economy by promoting professional education and industries such as Business Process Outsourcing.

The discussion session concluded with further insight from the key note speaker, Mourad about the key learning from the success story of Singapore. Creating value to the business community by facilitating discussions of timely and relevant topics to business leaders of the day, remains a constant commitment of CIMA and SIM.