In this episode we head to Sri Lanka to speak with Vidusha Nathavitharana. Vidusha is a vibrant and motivating leadership and human resource expert who possesses a wide corporate background that has served as a positive foundation to launching his businesses. He is also the author of over 50 books and a TedX speaker.
We have an open and honest conversation on his first startup High5 Consultancy and the lessons learned that he improved upon in his second venture Luminary Learning Solutions, which has scaled up and delivered executive training, team building and other services in 25 countries and counting. Vidusha has pioneered the concept of ROI based leadership training and boasts the ability to offer quantifiable and verifiable ROI after each of his signature leadership programs – possibly a first across the globe. We also discuss the influence of his father on his business life and why he is so passionate about training the next generation of business leaders and offers all his books for free – honouring his fathers’ request to ‘payback’ for the free education he received in his normative years.
Vidusha holds a bachelor’s in business management from the University of Lincoln, UK, a master’s in leading innovation and change from the University of York St. John, UK and a MBA from the University of Wales Trinity St. David, UK. He started his career in branding and marketing, moved to manufacturing and finally ended in HR and HRD, with his last corporate role at Sara Lee Courtaulds. Vidusha founded High5 Consultancy (www.highfiveconsultancy.com) in 2005 where his clients include The World Bank, The UN, MAS Holdings, John Keells Holdings, HSBC, Deutsch Bank, BRAC University, CARE International, top corporates and INGOs. In 2018, he founded Luminary Learning Solutions (http://www.luminarylearningsolutions.com/). Vidusha was also a lecturer for the CIM program in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. He was on the Board of Advisors for CARE Sri Lanka, and helped form Chrysalis (a social enterprise focusing on Women and Youth) as one of the two founding Directors. Connect with Vidusha on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidushanathavitharana/.