Experience

Shangri-La Dubai

• United Arab Emirates
• Hospitality
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director of Marketing & Communications

  • May 2023 - Present

  Responsible for driving innovative marketing and communications strategies, with a strong focus on demand generation, brand experience and PR initiatives, aimed at improving key financial and customer metrics for the hotel and its F&B venues. Responsible for driving innovative marketing and communications strategies, with a strong focus on demand generation, brand experience and PR initiatives, aimed at improving key financial and customer metrics for the hotel and its F&B venues.



Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts

• Sri Lanka
• Travel Arrangements
• 500 - 600 Employee

• • May 2022 - May 2023

  Driving the differentiation of the brand and product verticals whilst focusing on the emotional connections with guests to yield business results and loyalty. Initiating the process of identifying, cultivating, and managing global partnerships to increase repeat purchases, and generate revenue and sponsorships. Acting as the Brand guardian, looking into brand adherence, governance, and brand quality assurance.• Secured brand affiliations with CNN, and UNESCO – the first brand to have such partnerships in Sri Lanka Show less

• • Dec 2020 - May 2022

  Heading all brand communications and marketing overlooking 15 hotels and resorts. This includes developing and executing multi-channel and multi-property communication plans and managing agency relationships whilst also acting as the editor-in-chief for all internal and external communications released by the company.- Spearheaded the 360 integrated marketing strategy and implementation for pre-openings and official openings of several products under Cinnamon, such as the implementation of Cinnamon’s food delivery platform “Flavours by Cinnamon” and launch of Cinnamon Grand Colombo’s newest all-day dining restaurant “Plates”. The launches included working with multiple agencies, brand identity creation, conceptualizing, marketing and creative direction for thematic campaigns encompassing 360 communications channels. • Conceptualized and executed 40 marketing campaigns (tactical and brand level) within a year to drive room and ancillary revenue for the company. • Implemented the brand’s storytelling strategy and developed the team’s capability for content and design. Executed 25 rich storytelling pieces for the brand.• Redesigned the company’s creative ecosystem to deliver 5000+ high-quality storytelling visuals. • Spearheaded the launch of the brand’s food delivery platform, Flavours by Cinnamon together with a 360 marketing campaign. Achieved over USD 1.5 mn in revenue within 1 year of launch. • Launched a community CSR initiative called “Meals that Heal” to support less fortunate communities with a mass food distribution drive. Over 10,000 meals were distributed in less than 12 months. • Launched a destination promotion initiative called “One Island, A Thousand Treasures” in association with Sri Lankan Tourism as a campaign to revive tourism in Sri Lanka through a crowd-sourced content drive.. Show less

• • Jan 2019 - Dec 2020

  Responsible for providing Marketing and eCommerce support to the entire chain of hotels with the objective of meeting target revenue of B2C retail segments especially prioritizing brand website growth.- Was a part of the project team that launched the brand's revamped website www.cinnamonhotels.com with a new and improved user interface and user experience. This included project management from RFP creation to descriptive and visual content development for both platforms, followed by an effective digital marketing and consumer PR campaign.- Executed a 360 integrated launch for three new property additions in 1 year, namely: Cinnamon Hakuraa Huraa Maldives, Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives, Cinnamon Bentota Beach Show less

• • Jul 2017 - Apr 2020

  Expedited marketing initiatives for new projects, marketing campaigns and hotel-specific promotions. Directed the sales team handling the domestic market and mentored and trained them to deliver sales targets.• Boosted sales and grew the domestic market (Sri Lanka) by 20% YoY• Implemented Cinnamon’s email inquiry platform and achieved a 100% response rate for all queries.

• • Jul 2016 - Jun 2017

  Designed and implemented marketing initiatives across 11 resorts, while developing focused marketing strategies for key target markets which includes media negotiations/buy, planning and creative development. • Implemented a 24x7, 365-day outsourced call centre operation – the first-ever to be launched by a Sri Lankan hotel chain. This generated a 100% increase in domestic market revenue within the first year.

• • Jul 2015 - Jul 2016

  Develop public relations strategies in line with the objectives and promotional policies of the brand.· Was part of the steering committee for Cinnamon’s master brand enhancement, from establishing the new brand identity, to brand guidelines, to visual assets, TV Commercial and brand positioning in collaboration with a leading branding agency.· Headed and executed the marketing strategy and PR executions for several large-scale events including campaigns for hosting international celebrities such as American photographer Nigel Barker, Miss. England, Michelin star chefs Marco Pierre White and George Calombaris.· Executed several regional level conferences such as the Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit (2015), Cinnamon Travel Bloggers Conference & Awards (2014 & 2016), · Curated arts festivals and events as part of Cinnamon Colomboscope for two consecutive years· Launched Sri Lanka's first ever lifestyle hotel magazine called the Cinnamon Magazine (2015), which was the first magazine to be published by a hotel chain. The magazine won Gold at the SL Tourism Awards (2018) for the Best Print Media Presentation on Travel & Tourism. Show less

• • Jul 2014 - Jun 2015

  Developed and maintained strong media relations to ensure that the brand gains sufficient visibility in both print and electronic media both locally and overseas

• • Jul 2013 - Jun 2014

  Maintained a monthly press calendar of activities related to the brand, applied for brand level awards and coordinated all PR for events and ensured maximum mileage for the event.

• • Jun 2012 - Jun 2013

  - Handled content writing for press releases, brochure content, press ads, corporate website, etc.- Organized and executed Hotel level events and activities to engage customers and stakeholders.



John Keells Holdings PLC

• Sri Lanka
• Holding Companies
• 700 & Above Employee

• • Jan 2022 - May 2023

• • Jun 2018 - May 2023

  Member of the internal L&D faculty of the John Keells Group as a freelance corporate trainer in the areas of Business Etiquette, Customer Service, Negotiation Skills etc.



BNI Elite

• Canada
• Advertising Services

• Vice President

  • Apr 2020 - Sep 2020

  Serving in the Leadership Team of Sri Lanka's 10th BNI Chapter Serving in the Leadership Team of Sri Lanka's 10th BNI Chapter



Human Resource Management Institute - Colombo - Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka

• Visiting Lecturer

  • Feb 2017 - Jul 2017

  Lectures on International Tourism and Hospitality Management Lectures on International Tourism and Hospitality Management



John Keells Hotels

• Sri Lanka
• Hospitality
• 1 - 100 Employee

• • Jan 2011 - Jun 2012

  Handled reservations for the domestic market, corporates and VIPs.

• • Feb 2010 - Dec 2010