BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE
K. R. Ravindran
Zulfath Saheed speaks to a modern-day visionary who is on a quest to make the world a better place through acts of giving and greater community engagement “Through business and with colleagues, along with the workforce and other stakeholders, we have an opportunity to leverage our resources, and leave a mark on the world and in the community in which we operate,” says K. R. Ravindran, in conversation with LMD, underscoring his mission to bring prosperity to the country and world at large.

A third-generation Rotarian and member since he was 21, Ravindran was appointed President of Rotary International in June 2015, making him the first Sri Lankan to achieve this feat. He is also the CEO and co-founder of Printcare – a listed printing, packaging and digital media solutions company – and serves on the board of several other corporations in Sri Lanka and India, as well as charitable trusts.

During the country’s 26-year-long civil war, Ravindran was involved in the business community’s efforts to find peaceful solutions to the raging conflict. He also chaired the Schools Reawakening project, to rebuild over 20 tsunami-devastated schools in the island, and continues to play a role in his club’s latest project to build a cancer prevention and early detection centre in Sri Lanka.

Ravindran is a recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Award and Service Award for a Polio-Free World.

As for an insight into his persona, asked what a person of his standing should never do, in an online interview for the Thomian Old Boys’ Forum, he retorted: “Don’t speak from the lectern what you don’t practise yourself. Only politicians do that.” Words that may not go down too well with his peers, one dares say; but they carry lessons for us all.