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An
Appreciation: Ratna Sivaratnam
‘Boss’
you are truly immortal
I
came to know ‘Boss’ way back in 1976 when he interviewed
me. When I left his room I was simply overawed by his charm
and personality. I said to myself, “…never have
I ever seen or spoken to someone so exceptional.” The
fact that I joined Aitken Spence soon after was the beginning
of a journey to learn and grow under a master of a rare class.
Tourism was at its infancy but growing dramatically. I was
one of the first to join his dream team (or so we think) which
had the likes of Chandra, Manil, Mahinda and UC.
Sivaratnam was just tailor-made for this people’s industry.
He had all the qualities of a great leader to spur his team
to unimaginable heights. His charm and magnetism – probably
no one could match him. He rode like a colossus. He took tourism
of Aitken Spence to dizzy heights in a space of around four
years in late ‘70’s and everyone in the industry
watched with awe his ride to fame. His greatest achievement
during this time was securing the agency of TUI, the largest
tour operator in Europe and what a scalp it was. Aitken Spence
by 1980 was an undisputable leader in tourism and we all owe
it to the dynamic leadership and charisma of ‘Siva’
as he was popularly known.
What was great in this man was this unique quality –
he gave a lot to others: Selfless by nature, but extremely
sharp in his business skills and negotiations. It was a treat
to learn the way he baffled his negotiating counterparts of
the highest calibre. He was razor sharp to cut through his
competition in his inimitable style. The greatness of this
man was he balanced his success with humility. He was one
of the first to introduce this great destination of Maldives
to numerous tour operators in the world. The Maldivian community
should ever be grateful to him for the tremendous services
he rendered them.
My desire to venture out made me leave him in 1980. But even
at this time he was gracious and advised me of the pitfalls
that possibly I may face in my adventurous pursuit to see
greener pastures – he was not far wrong.
I kept in touch with this great human being as I increasingly
felt the absence and the guidance of my great leader. Fortune
favoured me and I came under his wings once again in 1984
and this time to head the hotel sector and a daunting challenge
to survive with tourism looking right down the barrel. During
this period ‘Boss’ took full control of the ship
that struck bad weather at every turn. He steered through
troubled waters and by 1990’s once again gave leadership
to the industry by boldly venturing to develop with the great
genius – Geoffrey Bawa to build the great Kandalama Hotel
which took the world of sustainable tourism by storm. This
product was his dream. And today the great hotel experience
that Kandalama symbolises is probably unmatched even in this
part of the world.
He spurred me to go to Maldives in 1990 and most know the
success that it brought Aitken Spence – probably the
best ever investment of Aitken Spence in its long history
of over 140 years. He could be compared to a good wine –
the more it mellowed it got better and my ‘Boss’
Sivaratnam, was no different. Success followed one after another
and in the twilight of his career he relentlessly pursued
an initiative to introduce ‘Power Generation’ to
Aitken Spence – a new sector all together to us in the
private sector. Today the financial supremacy of Aitken Spence
is without doubt due to the ventures of Maldives and Power
Generation. Full credit to you ‘Boss’ – probably
only my colleague Trevin and I knew the sleepless nights spent
by you to overcome so many hurdles. I was truly amazed at
his patience coupled with the killer instinct to achieve the
impossible – only you could have done it ‘Boss’
and you did it without fear or favour to any one – A
lesson for today’s leaders!
Sivaratnam was much more than a man to me and made me what
I am today. This applies in equal measure to several others
who came under his caring leadership. There is one distinct
quality that separates him from all others – “He
is there for you when the chips are down.” He will never
ever let you down. That was the man he was.
Today’s leadership has so much to learn from ‘Boss’
and I do hope they learn. There was his great friend, Ken
Balendra a corporate visionary. They both battled fearlessly
as competitors, but had the good sense to sip a beer every
Sunday and share good and bad times. This is the kind of lesson
we rarely see in the business world today.
I can write so much more ‘Boss.’ I say goodbye to
a man who deserves the highest in God’s Kingdom. God
Bless you ‘Boss.’ You are truly immortal to many
of us!
Prema Cooray
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