SriLankan Airlines Appoints Johann Wijesinghe as Singapore Country Manager

SriLankan Airlines today announced the appointment of Mr Johann Wijesinghe as its Country Manager in Singapore. Mr Wijesinghe brings with him more than 12 years of managerial experience in marketing and sales services. He is replacing Mr N Prabaharan who will return to Colombo to act as the Global Distribution Systems Manager for SriLankan Airlines.

"As Singapore is an important hub in the SriLankan route network, I see a great potential for growth in the near future. SriLankan Airlines intends to increase our business in the tourist, corporate and cargo sectors of our business here," said Mr Wijesinghe.

Mr Wijesinghe is a veteran of the airline industry with 14 years of experience at Air Lanka, the predecessor of SriLankan Airlines. He began his career in 1983 and served as an Executive in various offices, including Overseas Administration, Regional Co-ordination and Industry Affairs, before his promotion to managerial level in 1991.

From 1991 to 1996, Mr Wijesinghe served as the Commercial Agreements Manager and Sales Manager for SriLankan Airlines in Abu Dhabi and in Austria. He headed the Serendib Club, the Frequent Flyer Programme, in Sri Lanka from 1996 to 1997.

In 1997, Mr Wijesinghe joined the Lanka Oberoi, a hotel group, where he assumed the position of Director of Marketing and Sales. He returned to SriLankan Airlines in October 2003 as Manager of Commercial Projects before becoming the Country Manager for Singapore with effect from 1 December 2003.

In his capacity as Country Manager, Mr Wijesinghe will be managing the revenue targets and expenditure of the Singapore station and exploring business expansion opportunities here. In addition, he will be taking an active lead in the handling of stakeholder relations, marketing and publicity matters and the development of human resources.

Mr Wijesinghe received a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK in 1990. He was awarded the prize for the best results in Behavioural Aspects of Marketing and the prize for the best overall results in Sri Lanka from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He also has a Diploma in Airline Marketing from I.A.T.A. Mr Wijesinghe is currently pursuing an MBA in Marketing at the University of Leicester, UK.