Deepal Sooriyaarachchi appointed as CEO of Eagle Insuarance
- 3 January 2005
Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, who was the Chief Operating Officer at Eagle Insurance, was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer effective from 1 January, 2005. He will work closely with Chandra Jayaratne who will continue to function as the Managing Director to facilitate a smooth transition of leadership in 2005.
Deepal, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK and a Chartered Marketer also holds an MBA from the Post Graduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayawardenepura. He counts over twenty years of work experience of which more than ten years has been with Eagle Insurance.
Deepal has been with Eagle Insurance since 1990, where he has been a vital force in building the Eagle brand. He joined the company as its Marketing Communications Manager and was soon given the responsibility for the company’s Human Resource Development and then its Group Planning function. Subsequently appointed as the General Manager of the Strategic Business Unit-Personal Lines, he was promoted to the position of COO in November 2003. His wide experience in sales, advertising, marketing communications, HRD and strategic planning has helped him make a significant contribution to the company’s progress and strategic vision. During this period Eagle was a member of the Zurich Group where Deepal served on the group’s Asia Pacific Practice Board of Communications and Personal Business.
Deepal has received considerable training in various aspects of management- both locally and overseas, including training received at the National University of Singapore, Asian Institute of Management and at special programmes held in USA, UK, and Japan.
His contribution to the development of Management in general and Marketing Management and People Development in particular is equally important and recognized at national level. An avid writer he has published many articles on related subjects in local as well as international publications.
Deepal functioned as the President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing in 1999. Under his leadership the institute commenced a number of new initiatives of national significance. Among these are the National Brand Symposium, and National Sales Congress. He was on the panel of Judges for SLIM Awards 2001 and was the Chairman of the panel in 2003.
His role in spreading management thought in Sinhalese is a pioneering task. He has authored more than five books on various management-related topics. “Sinhalen Business” the most comprehensive book on marketing written in Sinhalese in 2000, earned him the SLIM Award of Recognition.
Considering his exceptional performance as a marketer he was awarded the Silver Award by CIM, Sri Lanka in 2001 as the Marketer of the Year in the Large Organization Category.
In 1997 he was invited by the UNDP to conduct a series of training programmes in Nepal to re-position and develop the country’s tourism industry. In a short time-period of three months he trained over 2000 persons ranging from senior managers to the most junior staff members of the travel and tourism trade in Nepal. He published a series of articles on marketing in the “Katmandu Post” during this period making a significant contribution to the country.
He is playing a vital role as a catalyst in the current effort to positively influence the thinking of the country using his exceptional communications skills in both Sinhala and English.
