Anil Ponweera, current President of ISMM, is a well-known qualified professional in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) who has over 33 years hands on experience in almost all areas of the supply chain which includes over 18 years at senior managerial level. He has successfully completed his MBA from the Australian Institute of Business Administration in Adelaide.
He has devoted his spare time serving ISMM as a Senior Vice President and the faculty since 1995 to maintain his professional advancement and impart his vast experience with the SCM professionals. He has undergone many train the trainer (TOT) programs conducted by ITC/WTO/UNCTAD in International Purchasing Supply Chain Management and many other training institutions around the globe.
He is a fellow member of 2 prestigious Institutions namely the Institute of Supply & Materials Management of Sri Lanka and the Institute of Certified Professional Managers, a Charter member of the Institute of Logistics & Transport and a member of the International Purchasing in Supply Education Research Association, (IPSERA) Italy.
He is a talented cricketer where he has captained the two Airline teams where he worked and Jinasena Limited in Mercantile division three and four tournaments conducted in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Ponweera is currently serving as the Manager Materials & Logistics of the National Carrier Sri Lankan Airlines Ltd at a very senior level of management. He is fully responsible for the entire operational materials management and logistics functions of the Engineering Procurement & Logistics department.
He has vast experience in government as well as private sector organizations which includes Multi National/Local cultures in Manufacturing, Telecommunication, Aviation, Banking and Financial Sectors. Air Lanka (presently known as Sri Lankan Airlines) and Emirates Airlines – Dubai are the two major airlines which he worked to gain 10 years of aviation exposure in SCM.
He is capable in implementing highly efficient and streamline processes to achieve effective results through Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to monitor business activities, contributing to profitability through cost leadership, negotiation savings and economies of scale. Further he has a proven track record in meeting deadlines and milestones consistently along with more efficient and enhanced business processes.
During his tenure as a Supply Chain Professional he has attended many international forums, workshops, global, regional supply chain conferences and round tables conducted by foreign countries. In March 2014 he was invited to present a paper at PISM’s Supply Link Forum in Manila on Supplier Relationship Management in the SC Context for the Industry. He also attended the IFPSM Summer School in 2008 held in Austria for researchers.
ISMM was established by an act of Parliament in 1979 and Anil has been with ISMM Sri Lanka since 1995 and has served the Council of Management as General Secretary, Vice President and headed many sub committees as Chairman. He is an able and skilful lecturer and Train the Trainer for ISMM.
Winning an internationally recognized award by him for the profession has given him enormous strength to work more for the supply chain community. It is more than an honour for him and ISMM as the recognition he has received from IFPSM has motivated him to impart the knowledge acquired amongst the network members of the profession.
More importantly, it has given him the strength to dedicate himself to the Supply Chain profession with vigor to encourage young professionals to work for the arena with passion and commitment in order to gain momentum for the upliftment of the profession.
His hunger and thrust for the upliftment of the supply chain profession in Sri Lanka and all the hard work for the supply chain profession finally paid dividends after becoming the recipient of the Hans Ovelgönne Award for 2014 from IFPSM on 24 October in Sri Lanka.