With just one month to go until the Hotelier Middle East Awards are held at the world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on October 30, it is time to unveil the shortlists of hoteliers that are up for our distinguished awards. In total, 90 hoteliers across 18 individual awards categories have been shortlisted, along with five hotel teams for the coveted Team of the Year Award.
Here we unveil the finalists for the Procurement Person of the Year Award, which was won last year by Bhanu Pratap Singh, director of procurement at Atlantis The Palm. This year the award is sponsored by Du, the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company.
Kalinga Dissanayake, director of purchasing, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal
| Advertisement |
ABOUT KALINGA
Kalinga Dissanayake, who holds a diploma in Purchasing & Material Management from the Institute of Supply & Material Management in Sri Lanka, first entered the hospitality industry in May 2005 when he joined the One & Only Royal Mirage Hotel in Dubai as purchasing officer, before being promoted to the roles of assistant purchasing manager and later purchasing manager. Dissanayake then joined The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal as director of purchasing in 2012 as a part of the pre-opening team.
WHY WAS HE NOMINATED?
During the pre-opening process Dissanayake was tasked with selecting more than 200 suppliers that were essential to the opening in a very short period of time. One example of his success in this high pressure situation was the negotiation of a contract with a well-known bus transportation supplier for 25% below market value which saved the hotel US $80,000 per year. Dissanayake also made the decision to outsource public area cleaning and laundry management, which are traditionally done in-house by the hotels, that not only brought savings of AED 103,000 per year, but also a new flexibility to teh property’s operations as it was able to reduce manning during the low season.
WHAT DID HIS TEAM SAY?
“Kalinga started with The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi during the pre-opening period and played a key role in making the hotel what it is today. Creating an environment of teamwork, excellence and positive attitude, Kalinga and his team spent long hours in setting up the department, working with the ownership on receiving the OS&E, building up the stores, working with the chefs on selecting the products, in few words, getting all the products and equipment required for the hotel to receive guests. After the opening, the regular job duties are not enough for him and he started getting more involved with the Marriott UAE cluster projects. As a good leader and mentor, Kalinga supports and trains his team to be always ready to grow within the company. I believe Kalinga did an outstanding job during the last 12 months and due to his hunger for excellence, leadership, teamwork and honesty, he definitely deserves the Middle East Hotelier Award.” Liviu Raulea, director international procurement, Ritz-Carlton / Marriott Head Office Middle East & Africa.
WHAT DID HIS SUPPLIERS SAY?
“I have known Kalinga Dissanayake since September 2012. Since then I have always found Kalinga very professional and dedicated in his approach to various subject. Kalinga is always well prepared and well informed about all matters and is striving to find the most efficient process in achieving his and his partners’ goals. In addition to the above I would like to emphasize Kalinga´s pleasant and friendly nature.” Jesper Madsen, general manager, Emirates Landscape, Abu Dhabi.
Please click through to next page to find out who else has been shortlisted…
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
