Iroshini Wijenayaka, the General Manager of Group Marketing & Communications at Ideal Group (Pvt) Ltd, was recently nominated as a Patron of the World Women Leadership Congress (WWLC), taking Sri Lanka to the international limelight, yet again. Based in Mumbai, WWLC, honors the strategic and influential role of women leaders and annually organizes the ‘Women Leadership Awards’ to celebrate the outstanding leadership and achievements demonstrated by women leaders in the region.

Iroshini shared her gratitude for being offered the opportunity to mentor fellow women and represent the nation on an international platform. “This is a great opportunity to empower and be empowered. It gives me great pleasure to be a part of WWCL, and assist fellow women of the region to successfully navigate in this competitive world. I firmly believe in empowering and uplifting each other, paving the way to follow their dreams. My long-term vision for women in business is to genuinely support each other and continuously work towards gender equality and women empowerment.”

In her career journey of two decades, Iroshini has represented several male dominated sectors of work, including sports marketing and the automobile industry. Her tenure at Sri Lanka Cricket has shone light in her career path to keep pushing boundaries and continue to challenge the societal norms of male dominated sectors of work, while achieving great heights.

Women in uncommon job roles or male dominated sectors is a topic of conversation in the current business context. As a woman who currently represents such a sector, Iroshini shared her experience at the workplace. “It is indeed challenging, but thanks to the forward-thinking work culture of the Ideal Group which stems from the Chairman himself, it continues to provide equal opportunities to all. The empowerment and guidance from fellow team members is always a breath of fresh air. All members of the Group truly believe in gender equality and constantly encourage women empowerment. The several power women currently strengthening the Group’s senior management team are a testament to this focus and I am honoured to be a part of such a team.”

Adding to her list of international recognition, Iroshini was awarded the ‘Woman of Worth’ award in 2021, by WWLC. She is also the recipient of the award ‘Most Influential Global Marketing Leaders’ in 2019, a recognition award presented by the World Marketing Congress (WMC).

While being a part of many community engagement projects with the aim of empowering and supporting all women, Iroshini is involved in the rehabilitation and recovery of abused girls. Her upbringing as a pupil of Visakha Vidyalaya in Colombo has greatly influenced her personality of being empathetic towards all and has instilled values which has shaped her to be the remarkable woman she is today.

Iroshini is an experienced Marketing and Communications professional with an MBA from the Western Sydney University, an MSc in Strategic Marketing from the Cardiff Metropolitan University of Wales, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK.