Recognizing a remarkable career spanning five decades in the field, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) honored Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive with the Sri Lanka Pinnacle Award in recognition of a lifetime achievements to-date in the logistics and transportation industry.

The award was presented to Pandithage by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe together with CILT Sri Lanka Chairperson, Gayani de Alwis.

“It is truly a great personal honour to be presented with the CILT Sri Lanka Pinnacle Award. From the inception of my professional career, I have always been a logistics professional at heart and while my duties have continued to evolve, the pragmatic, professional and personal lessons and values I learned from this industry have stayed with me and still useful to apply in my day-to-day work.

“In many ways, my experience in the transportation and logistics industry is directly shaped by the approach and values of the Hayleys Group, where I have worked for the past five decades. Our logistics business in particular continues to serve as a vital pillar of strength – not just for the Hayleys Group, but the Sri Lankan economy as a whole and I wish to take this opportunity to thank my mentors, and my dedicated team of employees for their invaluable assistance in driving this industry forward,” Pandithage stated.

Pandithage’s roots are deeply entwined with the Hayleys Group where he commenced his first job as a Management Trainee in 1969. Upon entering the Hayleys Group, Pandithage went on to hold positions of increasing responsibility and prominence within the Group emerging as Managing Director of the group’s highly successful Logistics subsidiary Hayleys Advantis by 1988.

A past pupil of Ananda College, Colombo, Pandithage is a Fellow of the CILT (UK). Serving on the Board of Directors of the Hayleys Group since 1998, he stepped into the role of Chairman and Chief Executive of the Hayleys Group from July 2009 where he also serves as the Chairman of all 14 of the Group’s listed subsidiaries in addition to providing oversight into all of the Group’s 184 companies.

Throughout his long engagement with the transportation, shipping and logistics sector, Pandithage has won several accolades in recognition of his achievements in the field. In 2004, he was the recipient of the ICS Award of Excellence for the Best Shipping Personality, awarded by the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Sri Lanka.

Additionally, Pandithage was also honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Seatrade-Sri Lanka Ports, Trade and Logistitisc (SLPTL) Awards in 2013 while the companies under his purview in the logistics sector continue to be among the strongest and most successful within the Sri Lankan industry.

In addition to serving as the Honorary Consul of the United Mexican States (Mexico) to Sri Lanka, Pandithage also serves as Council Member for the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon, and acts as a respected Member of the Advisory Council of the Ceylon Association of Ships’ Agents serving to advance the progressive interests of the industry while steering the profession towards a new paradigm in shipping, transportation and logistics.

Photo caption - The award been presented to Hayleys Chairman and Chief Executive Mohan Pandithage by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe together with CILT Sri Lanka Chairperson, Gayani de Alwis and CILT Sri Lanka Secretary, Dr. Lalith Edirisinghe.