Otara Gunewardene is well known for the highly successful multi billion-rupee enterprise- ODEL- she created over a period of 25 years. Her business pioneered fashion retailing in Sri Lanka and has had a significant impact on tastes and preferences of Sri Lankan population. Success of her business also led to entry of many other players to the fashion retailing, thus expanding the market significantly. However, ODEL never lost its competitive advantage, which was nurtured and sustained by Otara’s business acumen, passion and insight to retailing.
Under her leadership ODEL continued to reinvent itself in all key aspects of retail strategy: assortment, visual merchandising, customer service, store layout and location and communication and promotions. Under the watchful, creative and discerning eye of Otara, ODEL took visual merchandising and communication to level never seen in this part of the world.
Otara has also broadened the perspectives of CSR by creating a focused, passion driven, and meaningful project in EMBARK: a project where she applied her business, marketing and communication expertise to make it a viable project.
After twenty-five year successful journey OTARA made a conscious decision to embark on a different journey. A journey intends to impact the society. A journey where she could leverage her business acumen, celebrity status, network and the trust she has built to create greater good for the society.
61st Edition of LBR LBO CEO FORUM is pleased to host Otara Gunewardene: “Life After ODEL- A Fireside Chat with Otara”.
