Honour that is extended to us must always be considered in proper context. My context is the legacy my father formed, which it is my privilege to steward. His context is as relevant because his journey from ordinary Sri Lankan family in the tiny village of Pallansena to the world’s Teamaker was fueled by his faith in Jesus Christ, and the wisdom and grace that are a natural consequence of that faith.
I was honoured to be awarded Doctor of Business, Honoris Causa in Australia last week by the School of Business & Law at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. I have served at the School in an honorary role as Adjunct Professor of Practice in Sustainability for over a year. The ECU School of Business & Law is ranked among the top business schools in Australia (AFR BOSS Best Business Schools List 2024) and features in the top 300 universities worldwide for Business and Economics in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.
As much of an honour as the honorary doctorate itself, was the opportunity to share my family’s business philosophy with nearly 500 students and their families at the Graduation Ceremony last Sunday. I explained to the graduates – all embarking on their journey through life – that my father could not afford business school, and how that singular blessing in disguise had led to the occasion.
Unaware as he was of prevailing business philosophy and the priority it gave stakeholder value, the pursuit of profit and market dominance at any cost, his greatest influence was the kindness my grandmother embodied. He embedded it into the business that my brother and I steward. The honour extended to me is therefore rightly theirs – my father for his faith, determination and passion, and my grandmother for the kindness she nurtured in my father.
That is the context to the award and the justification that accompanied it.
“IN RECOGNITION BY THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL OF HIS EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS AS A TRULY IMPACTFUL LEADER WITHIN BUSINESS AND HIS COMMITMENT TO DRIVING POSITIVE CHANGES IN SOCIETY THROUGH INNOVATIVE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AND INSPIRATIONAL ADVOCACY OF HOLISTIC CORPORATE ETHICS HAS THIS DAY BEEN AWARDED THE DOCTOR OF BUSINESS, HONORIS CAUSA.”
My father taught my brother Malik and I, while impressing upon the next generation of our family, that impact and driving positive change through ethics and sustainability are features of life and business that can never compromised. Hopefully that explains the context of this award.
My most sincere appreciation to Chancellor Gaye McMath, Vice Chancellor Prof. Clare Pollock, Executive Dean Maryam Omari and to Prof. Gabriel Eweje. The honour of receiving this recognition from an university named after and embodying the values of a woman who had such profound impact on education and social justice is incalculable.
As time passes and jokes about my imminent debut in the next Harry Potter movie wear thin, I want to emphasize the critical importance of collaboration amongst purpose led businesses and academia. The benefit is mutual; science based sustainability solutions for businesses struggling to cope with a warming climate and more enlightened environmental standards. For academia, a partnership that should impress on receptive and often brilliant young minds, the wisdom and necessity of genuine commitment to kindness to people and nature in life and work.
Awards are phenomenal but they should never be the reason we do what we do, rather the validation of it. In receiving honours and accolades, we can also never forget the critical elements of every success – people and nature. Sir Isaac Newton’s magnificent perspective on this is worth repeating here, ‘If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.’
