Coca-Cola has announced the appointment of Kaushali Kusumapala as the Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, making her the first woman to assume this role, effective from 1st April 2024. Kaushali succeeds former country director Pankaj Sinha, who assumed the role in 2019. In her new role, Kaushali will work closely with bottling teams, customers, partners, consumers, and external stakeholders in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
With a career dating back to 2009, Kaushali has amassed diverse experience working with organizations and brands such as Leo Burnett, Fonterra Dairy, and Domino’s Pizza. Notably, her journey to leadership includes significant achievements at Hemas International, where she served as Director of Marketing, contributing to market entry strategies, international market development and pioneering marketing initiatives.
Kaushali is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, where she earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree. She was a recipient of the Slim Brand Excellence and SLIM Kantar People’s Awards for Local Brand of the Year and CSR Brand of the Year.
Welcoming Kaushali to the table, Ajay Vijay Bathija, Vice President of Franchise Operations for Southwest Asia (SWA) said, “We extend a warm welcome to Kaushali. The Coca-Cola Company is steadfast in its commitment to building a sustainable business in Sri Lanka and Maldives and Kaushali will play an important part in moving the needle.”
Elated upon making history, Kaushali stated, ” I am thrilled to embark on this journey with Coca-Cola and collaborated with our bottling partners, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka and Male’ Aerated Water Company, and other stakeholders with the purpose to refresh our consumers. For some years now, Coca-Cola holds a special place for me as a consumer and as a marketeer, and I am deeply committed to steering our loved brands and franchise operations to greater heights.”
