Greetings to Professor Kotler on 94th birthday from Sri Lankan marketers

ON 27 May, marketing guru Professor Philip Kotler celebrated his 94th birthday, honoured by Sri Lankan marketers and marketing undergraduates.

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This year, for the second time, Sri Lanka arranged a special felicitation for Professor Kotler on his birthday, following the first online felicitation that was held by announcing a National Marketing Day in the year 2022. Professor Kotler connected online in real-time with the conference so that the audience could connect with him and wish him a happy birthday.

The National Marketing Day Conference’s theme was to mould Sri Lanka’s future marketing professionals. To guarantee that the attendees gained the most knowledge possible from their sessions, speakers from a variety of industries talked at the event. After the first National Marketing Day was held in 2022 at the invitation of Professor Nalin Abeysekera and announced by Open University of Sri Lanka Vice Chancellor Senior Professor P.M.C. Thilakarathne, the forum was the second of its type.

The conference began with Iresha Hettige, the master of ceremonies, asking everyone to stand and observe a one-minute silence in honour of the late Professor Uditha Liyanage and Malini Fonseka, the Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema.

Professor Abeysekera welcomed the audience and emphasised the value of educating the SME sector about marketing. Senior Professor Tillakaratne emphasised the organisers’ efforts and expressed gratitude for the involvement of numerous other top academics and business professionals in educating Sri Lanka’s future marketers.