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Virtusa
selected as 2008 Finalist for the US Secretary of State Award
for Corporate Excellence
Virtusa
Corporation has been selected as one of eleven finalists for
the United States Secretary of State’s prestigious 2008
Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). The Award recognizes
the important role U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate
citizens. Other finalists include Microsoft in India, Google
in Brazil, Starbucks in Guatemala and Esso in Angola.
Since 1999 the U.S. Secretary of State has awarded the ACE
to deserving American businesses operating overseas for advancing
good corporate citizenship, innovation and democratic principles.
The Department of State is committed to working with businesses
to further these best practices worldwide, and to recognise
efforts to improve lives at home and abroad.
Virtusa and its employees were recognised for their significant
time and resource contribution to the “Sahana” disaster
recovery system, “Virtusa Campus Reach,” “Virtusa
Digital Reach,” and IT advocacy programmes aimed at improving
IT skills and curriculum in Sri Lanka.
Sahana, which was developed on an open source platform following
the 2004 tsunami, is currently managed and led by the Lanka
Software Foundation, and has been widely used in the aftermath
of disasters in Pakistan, Philippines, Indonesia and China.
Sahana has received numerous awards for its contributions
to disaster recovery efforts.
“We are honoured and very privileged to be selected as
a finalist for this prestigious award. This is a recognition
of Team Virtusa’s focus on sustainable contribution to
the communities in which we operate, and is testament to our
pursuit of excellence in all we do,” said Kris Canekeratne,
Virtusa Chairman and CEO. “Our focus on providing IT
skills and creating opportunities for our communities on a
global IT stage has been recognised by this nomination,”
said Keith Modder – EVP/Managing Director Asian Operations.
Virtusa was selected as a finalist from over 60 nominations
submitted by American ambassadors around the world. “I
nominated Virtusa because of its commitment to assist with
disaster relief,” states U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka,
Robert Blake. “I am also impressed by Virtusa’s
continued dedication to helping local Sri Lankans gain the
necessary IT skills to compete in the global business environment.
The company’s devotion to Sri Lanka and its corporate
culture of “giving back” to the local community
are examples that I encourage others to emulate.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce the 2008
ACE winners in a November 6 awards ceremony at the State Department
in Washington, D.C.
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