CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum chandij@sympatico.ca Acknowledgement I thank Mr. Gemunu Goonewardena, Chairman of the Tourist Hotels Classification Committee from 2018 to 2022, and Non-Executive Director of the Board of Aitken Spence Hotel Holding PLC, […]
CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum chandij@sympatico.ca At the beginning of 1981, I was transferred to the John Keells corporate office in Colombo. I was proud to get this opportunity to work within the largest […]
By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
An Opportunity to introduce Sri Lankan Cuisine to Hong Kong
In early 1981, from the post of Manager of one of the Walkers Tours/John Keells Hotels, I was promoted to the corporate office. I was the first Manager-Operations for Hotel Management and Marketing Services Limited, with some responsibility for all six hotels of the John Keells Group. At age 27, I was getting used to the corporate culture of the largest group of companies in Sri Lanka.
I was busy taking over the management of the Ceylinco Hotel, which became the seventh hotel of the group. In the midst of my busy schedule, my immediate superior, Bobby Adams, Director-Operations entrusted me at short notice, to travel to Hong Kong. He wanted me to quickly plan and organise a large Sri Lankan and Maldivian food festival at the Hotel Furama Inte