The book ‘When the Going gets Tough – the Tough Get Going’ - a history of Ceylinco Insurance - written by J Godwin Perera, Chairman, Ceylinco Insurance PLC is a tribute to those business leaders of his company who withstood the torrent of upheavals faced by the company while covering the 72 years of its existence.
The book launch was held in Colombo and the first copy was handed over to the Chief Guest Dr Sarath Amunugama, Senior Minister, International Monetary Cooperation. Dr Amunugama speaking as Chief Guest said that whatever said (about the individuals), Dr Lalith Kotalawela and N.U. Jayawardena have rendered yeoman services to the insurance industry and banking industry in Sri Lanka.
In his book Mr Perera indicated that “no other company in Sri Lanka has faced crises as Ceylinco Insurance has faced.”
Mr Perera wrote in the book that Hugh C Weeresekere in 1939 founded Ceylon Insurance Company, but because of ill-health it was left to Justin Kotalawela and he had managed it for 25 years. When the company was failing Justin Kotalawela emigrated to UK never to return and died in 1973. His son Lalith Kotalawela succeeded him.Later the name of the company was changed to Ceylinco Insurance.
Ceylon Insurance was taken over by the government in January 1, 1977 but handed back in April the same year and under the never give-up attitude of Kotalawela the company continued to survive, Mr Perera wrote and it was another example of how “when the going gets tough – the tough get going”.
He wrote that there were a series of landmark events that challenged the company to its very core. He wrote in the Chapter of “Rising from the Ashes” – the ability to get going when the going get tough depends both on effective and inspiring leadership and on a responsive and dedicated staff.
Mr Perera wrote that the extraneous events were: when the Japanese attacked Colombo in 1942 during World War ll; when the LTTE attacked the Central Bank in 1996 which destroyed Ceylinco House; the tsunami in 2004 and most recently the unprecedented corporate disaster which wiped out many companies and reshaped the corporate structures of others.
The book indicated that when the tsunami struck in 2004 there was the spontaneous relief amounting to millions of rupees paid out by Kotalawela and within a few days he visited affected areas. That was in 2004 and exactly four years later in 2008 destiny of its own capricious way created another type of tsunami.
This time a financial tsunami lashed the Ceylinco Group and Mr Perera wrote that it was the most devastating financial disaster ever to hit a group of companies here in Sri Lanka and the ‘hero of 2004 became a villain in 2008.’
In one of the concluding chapters Mr Perera wrote that Kotalawela resigned from the Board of Ceylinco Insurance in May 2010. His association with the company spanned 45 years. He wrote “Ceylinco Insurance will always be grateful to him for his leadership which contributed to the growth of the company”.
He wrote that because of events which unfolded in the recent past it is inevitable that society will judge him quite differently from how he was judged prior to 2009. It is not within the scope of this book to comment on these judgments or make a judgment of its own. |
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