IFPSM President’s world award for Jayantha Gallehewa

Jayantha Gallehewa, President of the Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) in Sri Lanka, was honoured with the IFPSM President’s Award for 2024 at the World Summit International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) in Cancún, Mexico.

This accolade recognizes his exceptional contributions to raising the standards of Sri Lanka’s Supply Chain Industry, as well as his significant efforts to advance the sector on a global scale.

Remarkably, Gallehewa is the only Sri Lankan to have received this prestigious award and the third Asian professional to ever win this award within the last 10 years.

The IFPSM President’s Award, bestowed by the President of IFPSM, is based on personal recommendations and honours individuals who have made a substantial impact on the profession over many years. IFPSM represents a union of 44 national and regional purchasing associations worldwide, reaching over 250,000 purchasing and Supply Management professionals.

Gallehewa, a Fellow Member of ISMM and its 17th President, has held numerous key roles within the institute over the years. His leadership has led to the declaration of ISMM’s anniversary as National Supply Chain Day in Sri Lanka, a groundbreaking move to emphasize the importance of the Supply Chain industry. Throughout his tenure, he played a pivotal role in organizing the National Supply Chain Excellence Awards in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industries, which recognizes outstanding contributions from both organizations and professionals. He also launched National Supply Chain Day Seminars and CEO forums to share cutting-edge industry knowledge.

Gallehewa was instrumental in signing a MOU with the Industrial Development Board to develop a domestic Supply Chain framework. Under his leadership, ISMM also partnered with the Ministry of Industries on the project “Developing Resilient and Sustainable Supply Chain Management Systems for Sri Lanka’s industrial sector.” His initiatives have been designed to boost Sri Lanka’s economy through specialized Supply Chain Management training for international markets. The first of these programs was successfully launched in Bangladesh in August 2024, with plans to expand to Vietnam, Cambodia, Fiji, the Maldives, and other countries.

Gallehewa has also driven efforts to integrate Supply Chain Management into Sri Lanka’s national education curriculum.

Furthermore, ISMM, under his guidance, introduced the Lifetime Prestigious Apex Award, an accolade that honours professionals who have made significant contributions to the Supply Chain industry over the past 76 years.

 Source:Daily News