Business Development Manager
Resume:
SURESH PARARAJASINGHAM
(Aspiring to be in a business leadership role within the MICE &
Corporate Travel Industry)
A Brief Career Summary:
An experienced professional with +27 years of experience ranging from MICE, Inbound & Outbound Tour Operations, Destination Management, Hospitality Industry & also with Financial Markets & Brokering; further strengthened with ability to mentor & build high performance teams that provide service levels which exceeds customer expectations resulting in securing strong partnerships locally & internationally. The last 11 years have been in Saudi Arabia, where extensive experience has been gained in Corporate Travel Management with special focus on MICE & Leisure Travel combined with a thorough knowledge in handling events for the pharmaceutical industry in KSA. During this tenure in KSA I have been associated with Amex Global customers (Kanoo Travel) for all their M & E activities inside KSA & Bahrain. The Amex M & E activities for KSA included bidding, sourcing, budgeting, operational delivering, compliance, global reporting, invoicing & payments.
Further +8 years experience in Destination Management has allowed me to specialize in the Inbound Tourism business combined with exposure to the Hospitality Industry. It has also allowed me to gain extensive knowledge in Sales & Marketing within Europe, Far East, USA, India, Australia & Maldives. It has given me the opportunity to develop my competency with a very unique ability not only to market & sell Sri Lanka as an exotic destination, but also the region with product knowledge of Maldives & India. Thus, allowing me to create a name in the Leisure & Hospitality Industry in Sri Lanka. The first 7 years of my career introduced me to International Money Market Instruments such as Foreign Exchange dealing, US Dollar Deposits & Foreign Currency trading, Call Money, Rupee Term deposits, SLR Trading, Treasury Bills and other Fixed Income Instruments – all this allowed me to develop the
“businessman” in me. Having been exposed to financial & FOREX markets this experience has given me a unique edge to be a leader in whatever I do.
Key Strengths:
• Leadership: Coaching & mentoring teams to meet/exceed targets. To engage team members based in various business units covering different demographics.
• Operational Expertise: Understanding customer needs and delivering similarly (which can be very different to their wants). Take pride in achieving “Customer Delight”.
• Business Development: Innovative thinking & developing pro-active strategies to attract new customers & retain existing customer base. I am talented to keep constant focus on value additions for the benefit of customers thus being recognized as “different”.
• Compliance: Ability to understand the importance of compliance and transparency, maintain quality & to ensure that all team members are fully confident on what is expected so that all levels none compliance decisions are not taken.
• Human Resources: I have exceptional inter personal skills & ability to bring the “best out of the team members”. I can drive to build exceptional teams to deliver high performance consistently with empathy towards each-other.
Thank you for this opportunity to present myself as a thorough professional who is befitting for a leadership role in your esteemed organisation. Kindly find the detailed CV attached to this document and awaits your scrutiny. I look forward to a personal & inter-active session to further elaborate & demonstrate my capabilities. Once again, I am thankful to you for reading through this presentation. Kind Regards
– Suresh Pararajasingham
SURESH PAUL PARARAJASINGHAM
PERMANENT ADDRESS: No. 29/3 JAMBUGASMULLA MAWATHA, NUGEGODA, SRI LANKA CONTACT: Mobile +966-********* ( Mobile KSA) – Current Home +94 (0-11-281**** (Sri Lanka); +94 (0-773****** (Sri Lanka Mobile) E mail *********@*****.***
Professional Experience:
@ BCD Travel, KSA (Portfolio Travel & Tourism) : 2020 to current. MICE Manager :2020 (06 Months)
BCD is The Travel Division at National Flight Service (NFS) which was established in 1995 and operates in Travel and Tourism, GSA, Airport Ground Handling, Cargo & Courier and Airline Operations. Currently generating an annual turnover in excess of USD 47 million BCD Travel KSA is currently in the process of setting up a dedicated Meetings & Events Dept and I have been hired to make this initiative a success which will add to the bottom line immensely.
Key achievements:
Secured the contract for handling of Real Madrid Football Club for The Saudi Super Cup League Championships for 03 years commencing 2020 Jan. This event had a Fan Club Meeting for over 1,000 supporters at The Jeddah Hilton.
BCD Travel KSA’s MICE dept. has been set up and we have already handled Bayer KSA’s 2020 Annual Conference in Prague KSA with an Incentive Trip.
Due to the sole reason of BCD Travel KSA’s dedicated MICE dept was set up have secured 02 of Saudi Arabia largest Pharmaceuticals Accounts Pfizer & Janssen both accounting to a total spend of SAR 20 Million Annually.
Current pipeline for Exhibitions and Conferences for 2021 has already exceeded SAR 8 Million in revenue.
@ Flyakeed Travel & Tourism (Riyadh, KSA): 2018 - 2020. Head of MICE; KSA : 2018 – 2020(02 years)
Flyakeed is a start-up Online Travel Agency with a unique vision to redefine the Travel Industry in KSA using a digital platform. Purely a Digital Travel Company Flyakeed’s ethos is to create a unique and innovative experience for the discerning traveller whether it be leisure or business travel. Flyakeed is the first travel agency in KSA to develop a state-of-the-art Mobile App for Corporate Travel Management which is 100% digital.
Key achievements:
Established a full-scale MICE operation for the company within a few months with a separate team handling Events & Exhibitions in KSA.
Currently Flyakeed is a stake holder of 05 Annual large-scale Conference / Exhibitions in KSA. Instrumental in making sure that the Events dept. of Flyakeed is 100% compliance with the rules & regulations of the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau
Contracting & Product Development for Flyakeed Mobile App (OTA) with more than 500,000 loyal customer base.
During a short span of 06 months secured Corporate Accounts with Annual Trading volumes of over SAR 50 Million.
Lead Team member in rolling out the Flyakeed Digital App(Corporate Booking Tool) the first of its kind in KSA.
@ Kanoo Travel (Riyadh, KSA): 2010 - 2017.
Head of MICE; KSA & Bahrain: 2010- 2017 Nov (08 years) As the lead-franchisee for AmEx Business Travel Services, Kanoo Travel manages Corporate Travel businesses for their Global Corporate clients in KSA; and as well as for some of the largest JV projects between western governments & KSA. The very strong credibility & long existence in the travel industry also has paved way for Kanoo Travel to be the leading Corporate Travel Management Company in KSA. Key achievements:
Established an exclusive MICE department within Kanoo Travel for entire KSA & Bahrain. Currently generating a turnover of over 30 million Saudi Riyals annually.
Currently Kanoo Travel MICE is the leading MICE operator in KSA with over 30 groups operated annually to different parts of the world.
Kanoo MICE dept.’s special focus and extensive experience of handling groups in the “Pharma” industry has resulted in Kanoo Travel securing contracts with KSA’s biggest local & multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Instrumental in building strong relationships with the Amex Global accounts in KSA thus creating opportunity to increase the product portfolio offered.
Initiated mechanisms to offer non-conventional value additions on travel products to corporate customers which increased the bottom lines.
Having extensive knowledge & experience in leisure products initiated regular workshops & training programs for travel consultants.
Introduction of MICE products to the entire corporate base of Kanoo Travel for the very first time.
Identified target segments in the corporate customer base that had potential for MICE and initiated sales
& marketing strategies.
Identified potential local corporate companies which had staff who were frequent leisure travellers and implemented “Leisure Desks” within the premises.
Introduction of a 100% ‘’Pharma Compliance Travel Policy’’ for Pharma Accounts after receiving the Pharma Code of Ethics Training from American Express.
@ Kanoo Holidays (Dammam/Khobar, KSA): 2008 - 2010 Sales Support Manager, GCC: 2008 – 2010(01 year 09 months) Kanoo Holidays is a venture by Kanoo Travel - one of the largest Travel Management Companies in the GCC and the first IATA approved Travel Agency in the Middle East. The holding company Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo is a well diversified conglomerate in the GCC has been in existence for over 122 years. Kanoo Travel being the American Express Franchisee in the GCC & North Africa manages corporate travel for majority of the Global Companies in the GCC.
Key achievements:
Launched Sri Lankan Holiday’s product in KSA & achieved +200% growth in leisure travel to Sri Lanka.
Convinced management to hire 3 tourism professionals from Sri Lanka to enhance growth for this product.
Responsible for obtaining Disneyland Paris franchise for all GCC & successful launch of the product.
Responsible for contracting Amex Vacations for all GCC & launching the product with training on the online booking engine.
Involved in extensive product & destination awareness training for entire Kanoo Travel network of outlets.
Solely responsible for initiating whole-selling of franchisee leisure products of Kanoo Holidays to travel agents across KSA.
Responsible for initiating group travel for the corporate/multinational companies serviced by Kanoo Travel
Initiated “One to One” product training for all Kanoo Travel Outlets in KSA which in return generated a growth of over 30% in leisure travel sales.
@ Walkers Tours Ltd. (Colombo, Sri Lanka): 2006 - 2008 Manager – Sales & Operations, 2006-2008(02 years 05 months) As part of the vision of the John Keells Group to grow in the region Walkers Tours Ltd became the first Tour Operator to spread its wings to India by opening a fully pledged DMC operation in Mumbai in Nov ‘ 08. Currently enjoying a portfolio of 15 hotels in Sri Lanka, 5 resorts in Maldives & with DMC operations in India & Maldives; Walkers Tours is the only Sri Lankan DMC which can offer travel solutions in the region. Key achievements:
Appointed Manager in charge for French Market which is the 3rd largest market from Europe to Sri Lanka. Managed a team of 8 staff separately for this area.
Securing of allotments & special rates in key hotels with excellent PR & negotiation skills.
Negotiating Brochure contribution with Hotels for Winter & Summer French Tour Operator brochures.
In order to offer different products to the French Market using strong relationships have incorporated very large range hotels to create unique itineraries at different prices.
During the French Travel Advisory warning to Sri Lanka in 2007 was instrumental in shifting a 1,400 pax French Incentive Group to Kerala which was handled by our office in India.
Successfully marketed the Chaaya & Cinnamon Hotel “brands” in France.
Convinced Asia Voyages & Voyages du Monde to include Chaaya & Cinnamon Hotels for their brochure programs.
Setting up of a separate Cruise Team which was successful in handling an average of 12 cruise ships a year from a mere 5-6 ships.
Undertook the first sales & marketing visit to USA by Walkers Tours in 2006 & managed to secure the appointment of official Ground Operator for Worlds Most Luxuries Cruise ships the Regent Seven Seas.
Further to the above visit to USA was successful in becoming the official “On Site” for the Worlds Largest Luxury Tour Operator “Virtuoso” (www.virtuoso.com)
As Manager John Keells Conventions (MICE/ Event Management) was involved in organizing of Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) 2006 held in Colombo.
@ Walkers Tours Ltd. (Colombo, Sri Lanka): 2002 - 2006 Assistant Manager – Sales & Operations, 2002-2006 (04 years) Walkers Tours Ltd is the most successful DMC in Sri Lanka enjoying market share of + 20% off the total tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. Being part of the John Keells Group, together with it’s chain of hotels in Sri Lanka
& Maldives; owning the largest private sector owned transportation business in the country, Walkers Tours has achieved phenomenal heights in the leisure & hospitality sectors not only in Sri Lanka but also in the Maldives by becoming the first to open a DMC in Male as well. Key achievements:
Given the task to manage Singapore & Malaysia markets with absolutely no base to start & within 2 years was the #2 Tour Operator from these markets.
Undertaking 3 sales & marketing visits to Singapore & Malaysia each year building strong relationships with Sri Lankan Airline offices as well as established working relationships with a numerous travel agents.
Through constant dialogue & PR was able to convince a portfolio of hotels to participate in numerous promotions to drive “Asian” markets.
Member of the “Branding Team” from Walkers Tours for Chaaya & Cinnamon Hotels branding initiative.
As Assistant Manager John Keells Conventions (MICE/ Event Management) was involved in organizing of Sri Lanka’s biggest IT Conference ASOCIO 2004 held in Nov in Colombo.
Was responsible in setting up a separate Cruise Team at Walkers Tours in order to achieve the highest standards in the handling of Shore Excursions for cruise ships.
Escorted COMPAQ & AUDI France, 2 large French Incentive Groups to Maldives
After 2004 Tsunami was seconded by John Keells Holdings to the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation
(TAFREN) and functioned as Director Tourism for 6 months. TAFREN was under the personal supervision of Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunga.
@ Mackinnons Tours Ltd. (Colombo, Sri Lanka): 1999 - 2002 Senior Executive, 1999 – 2002 (03 years 05 months) Mackinnons Tours Ltd was a subsidiary company of Walkers Tours Ltd the largest Inbound Tour Operator
(DMC) in Sri Lanka. The nature of business of Mackinnons Tours Ltd was that it was given the handling of a small but very important portfolio of accounts which would bring to Sri Lanka the “high end” luxury travellers looking for the most discerning “holiday with a difference”. Key achievements:
Sole representative for British Airways Holidays one of the most prestigious
Leisure Brands in the UK. Total operations from arrival to departure of clients were handled by me.
Developed unique itineraries with competitive pricing for Sri Lanka published in the BA Holidays Brochure.
Excellent Customer Feedback ratio for all accounts handled
Effective sales & marketing visits in Australia, India & Pakistan in order to promote the destination.
Building sustainable strong relationships with hoteliers in Sri Lanka.
@ Keells T & R Ltd., A div of John Keells Plc. (Colombo, Sri Lanka): 1997 - 1999 Senior Money Broker, 1997–1999(02 years 04 months) Key Achievements:
Improved & fostered relationships with Bank Treasury’s which were low brokerage paying & turned them around to actively trade in the “money markets” thus resulting in increase of brokerage.
Built up excellent rapports with the biggest Commercial Bank Treasury’s in the country.
Was a founder member of the first Money Brokering Association in Sri Lanka.
Was able to use the reputation & influence of John Keells with the largest Commercial Banks in the country in order for their Treasury Depts. to use Keells T & R as the regular money broker
@ Keells T & R Ltd., A div of John Keells PLC. (Colombo, Sri Lanka): 1992 - 1997 Junior Money Broker, 1992 – 1997(04 years 5 months) Keells T & R Ltd was on of the pioneering Money Broking companies which was established in 1982 as a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings under it’s Financial Sector. Tullets (Singapore Pvt Ltd) the partner which joined hands with John Keells was part of an International Money Broking House with offices in New York, London / Singapore, Tokyo etc etc.
Key achievements:
Prompt & accurate servicing of Commercial Bank Treasury’s & Financial Institutes which resulted in excellent rapport for the future years.
Learned & experienced the vital importance of being part of a “Team” for the benefit of achieving the objectives of the company.
A broker attached to a Broking House which was always considered to be the number one or two in the market. (The “Winning Team”)
Education :
School Attended: St. Thomas’s College Mount Lavinia : 1980 – 1992
GCE ORDINARY LEVEL EXAMINATION – 1989
English Language - Distinction
Sinhala - Credit
Christianity - Credit
Social Studies - Credit
Art - Credit
Commerce & Accounts - Credit
Mathematics - Ordinary pass
Science - Ordinary pass
GCE ADVANCE LEVEL EXAMINATION – 1992
Economics - Ordinary pass
Commerce & Accounts - Ordinary pass
Professional Development / Training:
Business Leadership Unleashing Excellence – Leadership Development Programme conducted for John Keells Holdings from 22/04/2003 to 25/07/2003.
Have been nominated & participated in various “In House Training” programs conducted by John Keells HR as part of the Groups Training & Development initiative for staff.
Participation in International Travel Exhibitions in Europe / USA and Asia Pacific region.
Escorted groups ranging from 30 persons to 300 persons to different countries.
Trainings on multinational pharmaceutical compliance and ethics. Achievements:
Awarded a V- SPARC (Superior Performance and Recognition Creation) certificate in 2005 for the outstanding contribution to the team effort in living the Group Values.
“Best MICE operator - KSA” by Hilton Worldwide for 2 years consecutively; in 2011 & 2012
Awarded the Leading Travel partner for KSA by Starwood Hotels Worldwide for 2012. Date of Birth: 4th APRIL 1972
Marital Status: Married
Nationality: Sri Lankan
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