The release of the 20th annual edition of LMD’s Most Respected entities in August saw John Keells Holdings (JKH) helming the rankings as Sri Lanka’s most admired corporation for the 19th year.

“It is humbling and rewarding to be recognised for this accolade,” the Deputy Chairperson and Group Finance Director of John Keells Group Gihan Cooray said, in a recent LMDtv interview.

He added: “For us, it is about doing the right thing, believing in what you truly want to do and not really looking for an outcome. The outcome is rewarding but the process that we follow matters.”

“The integrity of the process, which encompasses a strong focus on governance while being agile and relevant with the times, has helped us maintain consistency,” Cooray explained.

With business dynamics changing drastically and accelerating at pace, he emphasised the need to “stay relevant with the times and consistent in terms of what you do.”

Discussing some of the critical elements to garnering the respect of various stakeholders, he identified the importance of transparency, integrity, being stakeholder-centric and business excellence.

Cooray elaborated: “One of the main elements is transparency and integrity in how you conduct operations. The second is taking a very stakeholder-centric approach, not only concerning customers but the entire value chain of suppliers, partners, the community and our people.”

“Connected with that is how you conduct business itself – the excellence that you strive to deliver,” he noted.

With technology being a disruptor and determinant of business success, Cooray spoke about how tech advancements are changing the game for companies: “Technology underpins everything that we do; and we look at it more as a means to an end in terms of what we want to achieve.”

“Let’s look at it from a customer perspective – being one of the most important stakeholders. Technology plays an absolutely important role not merely in terms of the interface with the customer but also in terms of customer touch points, and how customers want to be spoken to and transact with you,” he asserted.

And he added: “So if you don’t evolve, and keep pace with customer needs and wants, then your business itself is going to take a backseat.”

Technology also impacts stakeholder groups such as employees, which Cooray termed a pivotal asset.

He noted that “things have evolved across all aspects, starting with recruitment. So then it’s a question of how to attract talent, get their attention initially and use digital media to reach particular segments; and once you reach them, how to onboard them; and once they’re working with you, how to enable and empower them.”

“Ultimately, it’s the people who need to deliver. So how do we ensure that our people can function more productively with technology?” Cooray pondered.

The Deputy Chairperson and Group Finance Director of John Keells Group discussed garnering respect across a company’s different stakeholder groups. “Respect is earned all around; not by catering to one particular stakeholder group,” he said, noting that “it’s doing what you think is right and believe in, the outcome of which will be stake­holders respect you.”

Mentioning the importance of focus­sing on all stakeholder groups through “a wide variety of activities,” he highlighted one group in particular – employees.

Cooray elaborated: “People are our greatest asset; it’s important that our own people have the conviction and belief that we’re doing the right thing because they are ultimately our ambassadors in terms of everything that we do.”

“If you don’t conduct your business with integrity and honesty or you don’t have excellence in terms of how you serve your customers, it’s going to catch up with you in some form or shape. But if you don’t have your employees on board, then regardless of everything else you do, respect will be very difficult to sustain,” he affirmed.