User:Salagama/sandbox

Suminda De Silva
'''Rathgamage Suminda. P De Silva (Suminda De Silva)''' is an accomplished professional with a strong background in international automobile dealership management. Born April 1970 in Colombo Sri Lanka) a to Sarath De Silva (Sarath)a Civil Engineer by profession and Chandra Mala Salgado who divorced in the mid 1980's. Suminda as he is popularly known left Sri Lanka (Ceylon then) at a very young age for Kenya, where he studied in several schools in Nairobi, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Kakamega. He's fathers project related work took both him and his sister Ruwani De Silva (Died in July 1989) across many cities and several countries. On his return to Sri Lanka he studied briefly at Alethea International School and Stafford International School in Colombo. He is an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and is also noted for his excellent command of the English language.

"Family Life"
Married at a very young age (22) to his first wife - Kishani Karunaratne with whom he had two sons Nireka (Born 1994)and Nikhila (Born 1998). After many years of living separate lives, he finally filed for Divorce in 2013 and married his childhood sweetheart Suralini Perera the same year.

Passion for Automobiles, Wildlife & Adventure
Suminda's passion for automobiles started at a very young age during his childhood in Kenya. His father an adventurer himself used to take young Suminda and sister Ruwani on very frequent 4x4 drives around Kenya. Suminda grew up among Land-rovers and Landcruisers and Rally cars. One of his favorite things to do was to watch the East African Safari Rally (Which eventually became the Kenyan Rally) during the April school holidays. As a young man, Suminda also eventually became a race and rally driver in Sri Lanka, starting off riding Motocross bikes and progressing into circuit racing, speed hill climbing and rally driving. His obsession with all things wild and natural worked well with his early life in Kenya where he would very frequently camp out with his father in Masai Mara, Amboseli or Tsavo National Parks. Suminda now owns a 3 acre bush bungalow and campsite close to the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, where he uses as a get away from his busy work life. He is also known to be an ardent fan of Rugby and socializing. Some of his closest friends and relatives know Suminda as an "Adrenaline Junkie", who would take up any challenge without fear.

Career
His passion for cars and racing got him into a business venture along with a couple of friends. A motor garage called "Mega Motors" was set up in Colombo. During the same period, he worked in the leasing industry. Both these were his entry into a career in an industry where he had a deep passion. In 1999, Suminda moved to Melbourne Australia with his family and worked for one of the largest Toyota, Lexus and Daihatsu dealers in the country. His aggressive work habits along with his automobile passion quickly moved him up the ranks and worked in several management positions. In 2004 he decided to venture into the Middle East where things were becoming lucrative. Later basing himself and his family in Dubai, Suminda worked for some of the largest business houses in the Middle East and probably the World. His most notable work was his time at General Motors (GM) where worked at a regional level spread over 12 countries. Suminda took pride as the architect of the General Motors ME Dealer Operating Standards, where he not only wrote standards but had to execute them across 12 countries. In December 2013 he came back to his motherland Sri Lanka with an abundance of International Best Practices and experience and joined the Softlogic Group as the Chief Executive Officer of the group's automobile sector, which has the franchise for FORD Motor Company, Daihatsu Motor Corporation and King Long Bus. Many Customers, Media and industry professionals who knew Suminda closely credits him with taking the Ford business in Sri Lanka from the dumps and bringing it to where it is today. In June 2015, the shocking news came of his sudden resignation from Softlogic, which has left Customers, Staff and the industry wondering as to what the future of the FORD franchise in Sri Lanka be without the man with a huge background and deep passion that raised it from the dumps. He is now a Management Consultant to several organisations. Some of his colleagues in Australia nick named him "The Smiling Assassin" as Suminda could just keep smiling under the most extreme situations or execute the most difficult task that others fear, with a smile. He is said to command work and lead his teams with a "Iron Fist" camouflaged with a "Velvet Glove". Most colleagues describe him as "tuff boss" from "9 to 5" but a true and sincere friend with a "huge heart" after work. He is a firm believer in "Work Hard and Party Harder"

Salagama Background
Suminda spends a lot of time and effort in tracing back his ancestry. He is a very vocal ambassador and takes pride of his salagama lineage. His paternal ancestors come from Ambalangoda in the South of Sri Lanka which boasts of their entrepreneurial blood in the Cinnamon trade. His grandfather R.R De Silva worked for the Ceylon Postal Service and was the son of a landed proprietor father and mother from the Mendis Wijeysekera family in Boosa. Suminda's maternal lineage is from the Salgado family of Panadura which is just south of Colombo.

Some of the famous Salagams's include Sir Earnest De Silva, Sir Cyril De Soysa, Dr. Colvin R. De Silva and Dr. Stella De Silva