LMD OCTOBER 2026 COVER STORY

Charting their Course

“Every generation has to build on what the generation before it created” 

For decades, the Omar family has been closely associated with Sri Lanka’s business landscape, building enterprises that have grown alongside the country – and in some instances, extended their reach beyond its shores.

And now, a new generation is stepping forward… 

For Executive Director of Phoenix Industries Anam Omar, Chief Executive officer of Moose Clothing Company Hasib Omar, and General Manager, Strategy, Transformation and Communication of Brandix Group Mariam Omar, the goal is to understand what previous generations built, preserve the values and entrepreneurial instincts that made those businesses successful, and work on what must change for them to remain relevant in a very different world.

Their individual paths centre on three perspectives…

At Phoenix Industries, Anam’s outlook is rooted in a willingness to question convention. The company’s history stretches back half a century, beginning with the acquisition of a plastics factory and evolving into a major manufacturing enterprise. Yet for Anam, respecting that history does not mean being bound by established ways of doing things. Instead, she sees experimentation, technology and taking calculated risks as being essential to what comes next.

Hasib’s journey has taken a different route. Having previously worked at Brandix, he went on to establish Moose Clothing Company and build a consumer facing brand with ambitions that extend beyond Sri Lanka. The brand has extended both its domestic retail presence and international reach. His vision reflects a central question confronting many of Sri Lanka’s emerging entrepreneurs: why should being born in a small market determine the scale of a company’s ambition?

For Mariam meanwhile, the conversation is as much about stewardship as it is about change. Her experience across people, communications and transformation has created a view of business that extends beyond commercial performance. At Brandix – an enterprise that has long positioned sustainability, people and innovation as part of its operating philosophy – the next chapter also involves considering how technology, purpose and responsibility can coexist alongside growth.

A surname may provide access, experience and opportunity; but credibility ultimately has to be earned through decisions, performance and the ability to create something of value.

Perhaps that’s what most clearly defines this next generation: they’re not attempting to distance themselves from what came before them, nor are they content with merely inheriting it.

For Anam, Hasib and Mariam, the task is to take what has already been built – its experience, relationships, reputation and resilience – and ask where it can go next.

– Compiled by Tamara Rebeira