Happy New Year to all our dear readers! 

The team at MRSSL wishes you a prosperous 2016, while welcoming you to the 3rd edition of the MRSSL newsletter! 

MRSSL had its 3rd Annual General Meeting on the 30th of October 2015, when Mr. Ravi Bamunusinghe’s term as President ended after three years of valuable contributions to elevate MRSSL to greater heights. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ravi for all the exceptional work and the motivational guidance provided by him. Ms. Himalee Madurasinghe the former secretary of MRSSL was elected as the new President for the year 2015-2016. In her acceptance speech Himalee emphasized the importance of continuing to enhance the spirit of togetherness among members which had become a hallmark of the Society. She invited more members to get involved in the activities of the Society to help it grow even more rapidly. 

The AGM came to an end with the members of the different Research agencies using the opportunity for some useful networking. Our best wishes go out to the newly appointed President and the Committee for a highly fruitful year ahead.

Seated from Left: Waruna Kathriarachchi – Treasurer (Nielsen Lanka), Roshani Fernando – Secretary (Quantum Consumer Solutions), Himalee Madurasinghe – President (LMRB), Ravi Bamunusinghe – Immediate Past President (RCB), Prajika Fernando – Assistant Secretary (LMRB)

Committee Members standing from left: Dilini Jayasuriya (Breakthrough Business Intelligence), Chitrangani Herat Gunaratne (Quantum Consumer Solutions), Shaheen Cader (Nielsen Lanka) Anura Karunaratne (TNS Lanka), Neel de Silva (SRL), Therika Meyandeniya (Nielsen Lanka) and Mihirani Dissanayake – Assistant Treasurer (TNS Lanka)

The year that was…

The successful launch of the MRSSL inaugural members evening “Learning Zone” took place in March at Hilton Colombo Residences. The evening was organized by the membership drive team and was a much awaited opportunity for the Members to fraternize with each other. The occasion was graced by Mr. Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Management Consultant, Mr. Rakesh Khosla, Marketing Director, Hemas Consumer Brands, and Mr. D.C.A. Gunawardena, former Director General of Census and Statistics as key note speakers, who delivered some inspiring & motivating presentations to the MR Fraternity. 

Along the same lines of inspiration and motivation, we had the pleasure of connecting with Mr. Ravi de Coonghe, Marketing Director GSK, in a one-on-one interview. In the feature “In conversation with”; Ravi shared his views on the Market Research Industry in Sri Lanka, how it has evolved and the importance of market research in building mega brands.

We also got some news from overseas! Ms. Himalee Madurasinghe, CEO LMRB, as the ESOMAR country representative of Sri Lanka, and the then Secretary of MRSSL, attended the 16th Asia Pacific ESOMAR Conference held in Singapore in May, Key topics discussed at this year’s Conference included “Attracting the new generation to the market research industry” and “Embracing new methodologies driven by technology”. More about this Conference in the “From ESOMAR” segment.

In addition to these we have a few informative snippets on Standard Deviation, Projective Techniques, Social Media Usage and Statistical Significance. So don’t forget to check out the ‘Did you know’, ‘Decoding the jargon’ and ‘Food for thought’ segments to feed your mind.

A few things to look out for in the near future from the MRSSL team – We have in store a special event planned for clients on Applications of Market Research. In addition, a few more events are planned which include training sessions for Researchers and Field staff. 

We would also like to take this opportunity to bid farewell to Mr Kiran HN, on his transition from heading TNS Lanka to taking on a regional role in Bangalore, India. As a highly involved member of MRSSL, Kiran was extensively involved with the policy making aspects of the society and also played a key part in motivating, guiding and facilitating all PR & Communication related activities. We wish Kiran all the very best in his future endeavours. Good luck Kiran! 

And before I forget…………………. some GREAT NEWS!!!

Check the newly launched MRSSL website @ www.mrssl.org 

We would definitely like to hear your thoughts on what you would like us to feature in the upcoming issues to make the newsletter more attractive to read. Do send us your feedback at newsletter@mrssl.org 

Cheers!
Sakuntha Amarasekere 
Editor MRSSL