Adding to the long list of accolades secured by the Maldivian arm of the Sri Lankan hospitality company Aitken Spence Hotels in 2019, the company’s strong drive in moulding young professionals was recently recognized with the Company’s Assistant General Manager and Quality Assurance at Adaaran and Heritance brands (Maldives) Tharaka Appuhamy receiving the title of L&D Professional of the Year 2019.
Accoladed at the South Asian Business Excellence Awards 2019 held mid-November at the Hilton Colombo, Sri Lanka as part of the South Asian Partnership Summit (SAPS), the event looked at recognizing and rewarding befitting leaders from sectors that cover areas such as Politics, Social, Economic, Financial and Corporate. Attended by over 300 senior leaders in South Asia, the award was presented by former President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena.
Part of the Aitken Spence Hotels since 2016, Appuhamy has won several awards for his efforts in uplift training and development functions of the Maldives hotels.
Among his accolades are South Asia Human Resources Hotelier of the Year Award at the Stellier Awards 2019, 50 Most Talented HR Leaders Award in the Maldives consecutively two times in the year 2018 and 2019 by the HR Maldives.
Appuhamy holds a chartered membership at Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) and has completed a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Mahatma Gandhi University as well as an Honours degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from the MSU (Management and Science University). He has completed a four-year Management Diploma in Hotel & Catering Operations, specializing in Food & Beverage Operations from the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management (Ceylon Hotel School) where he was also recognized for his efforts as the Most Outstanding Graduate for the year 2012.
Adaaran Resorts and Heritance Hotels and Resorts are part of Aitken Spence Hotels, a subsidiary of leading Sri Lankan blue-chip conglomerate, Aitken Spence PLC. The Aitken Spence Hotels portfolio consists of 22 hotels, with ten hotels in Sri Lanka, five in the Maldives, four in Oman and one in India. Adaaran Resorts, which commenced its operations in the Maldives in 1993, has an inventory of 750 rooms with the latest resort, Heritance Aarah which opened doors earlier this year consisting of 150 villas.
