Business leaders share lessons in resilience at I AM COYLE Leadership Forum 2025

THE much-anticipated I AM COYLE Leadership Forum was held this week, bringing together some of Sri Lanka's most respected businessmen to inspire and celebrate their creativity, resilience, and spirit of enterprise.

- BY DIVYA THOTAWATTE

Organised by the Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), this year's forum featured a panel of three leading business figures from Sri Lanka: Sirocco Group Managing Director Suren Chandraratna, Nihal Hettiarachchi and Co and RHN Ventures Chairman Managing Partner Dinuk Hettiarachchi, and Celeste Founder and CEO Janik Jayasuriya. Adding a global perspective to the discussion, renowned international cricketer and coach Jason Gillespie delivered the event’s keynote address.

The event drew a packed audience of business leaders, professionals, and aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as a visiting delegation from New Zealand. The speakers shared insights and lessons learnt from their distinct entrepreneurial journeys, highlighting the importance of resilience, reinvention, and calculated risks.

Gillespie, in his keynote titled: 'A builder of teams and business,' reflected on his journey from a sports-loving kid in Sydney to representing Australia at the highest level, sharing how setbacks and self-belief shaped his career. He recalled a moment when people had laughed at him when he shared his dream to play international cricket by the time he was 21.

"All they saw was a scrawny skinny teenager who bowled medium pace in the fourth grade. I've always referred to this as my light bulb moment. I call it that because I realised at that moment that I needed to change." Gillespie explained that this ridicule transformed his outlook and strategy.