Kia Motors (Lanka) Limited has announced the appointment of Mr Andrew Perera, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) as Managing Director.

A company news release said “he will provide continuing leadership to the Company’s and the Kia brand’s next phase of growth in Sri Lanka.”

Perera who joined Kia Motors as COO in January 2013 and has played a pivotal role in the development and expansion of Kia’s aftersales service infrastructure and regional presence in Sri Lanka over nearly nine years. He was appointed an Executive Director of the Company in 2015 in recognition of his contributions and his value to the Board, the release added.

Announcing the appointment, Kia Motors (Lanka) Chairman Mr Mahen Thambiah said: “Andrew’s expertise, commitment, drive and energy have been an asset to Kia Motors during good as well as challenging times. With his support we have persevered with our expansion and restructuring plans even through the period marred by the global pandemic and local restrictions, and we look forward to his continuing leadership in the exciting years ahead of us.”

Commenting on his new role Perera said: “On the international stage, Kia is undergoing a transformation and reinvention that is designed to propel the brand to a leading position in the global car market. This is focused on developing more class-leading electric vehicles like the EV6, and introducing a broad range of sustainable mobility services tailored to meet the needs and tastes of individuals and local markets. I believe that the best of Kia is ahead of us, and I am delighted to take up the challenge of driving the brand’s next phase of growth in Sri Lanka.”

A management professional and an accomplished sportsman at the schools, clubs and national levels, Andrew Perera has more than 12 years of experience in the automobile sector. At Kia Motors his tenure as Chief Operating Officer has seen many milestone developments, including awards such as Distributor of Distinction 2013, Most Improved Distributor 2014 and Testimonial Award for Best Sales 2017 for the Company from Kia; the completion of the Rs 800 million Kia Logistics Centre in Malabe in 2018 and the development of a network of owned subsidiaries and franchised satellite sales, service and spare parts (3S) outlets that has significantly expanded the brand’s regional presence.

Perera serves the automobile industry as an Executive Committee Member of the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) which is affiliated with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

A past Head Prefect of Royal College, Colombo, and an ardent Royalist to this day, he has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Business Management from the University of Wales and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Leicester. He received his executive education from the National University of Singapore (NUS) focused on Strategic Management and followed the Program on Leadership at MDA Associates International, USA. He has also attained the rank of ‘Green Belt Sensei’ granted by the TSD Consultants, USA, for meeting the training and project implementation requirements in ‘Lean Operations for process excellence.’

Before his move to Kia in 2013, Mr Perera was responsible for overall operations for two automotive brands, Jaguar and Porsche, as Group General Manager at IWS Holdings. Prior to joining the automotive industry, he held several key positions at MAS Holdings Pvt Ltd. , working for global brands such as Victoria’s Secret in the areas of Design, Merchandising and as a Business Analyst.

As a sportsman, he has represented Sri Lanka in Under 17 cricket, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) at U-23 Level and in the Premier Cricket League and was Vice Captain of the Royal College first XI. Continuing his association with sports, Mr Perera serves as an Executive Member of the Royal College Cricket Advisory Committee and the Games Council of Royal College.