Buzz!!!! With Danu - Roshan Wijeyaratne 

Today on the Buzz, I have a true professional and an easy person to work with - Roshan Wijeyaratne who has been in the event management business for more than 30 years, and recently celebrated his 25 years under the brand name Event Productions. Event Productions Ltd. (EPPL), the oldest event company in the country, has traversed a journey that has surely shaped the event production space in the country. And now his son has taken the same path. 

He speaks about his life, events and fun moments on Buzz with Danu today, and I must note that even this article came from time from him, as he is a king of time management. 

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Full Name - Roshan Wijeyaratne 

Hometown - Kandy 

Status - Married 

Birthday - 28th February 

Idols - Don’t have any 

Passions - Music, vehicles and now cycling 

Favourite Colour - Green 

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What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

Strength would be to be able to fit-in to any situation, any place and any crowd. Weakness would be impulse buying. 

What's new for the next 25 years? 

Son taking more responsibility of the company and me finally having some free time to relax. 

What types of clientele have you managed events for? 

Clients who are professional and demand quality and service. In an absolutely corrupt industry I’m proud to say that we don’t have a single corrupt client. We have a strict no commission policy in our company. 

How would you describe your work style? 

Doing a perfect job and 100% delivery. 

Give an example of a time when you felt the greatest sense of accomplishment in your job. 

When I was a one man operation and when I handled concerts and watching thousands of people dancing and enjoying themselves, and that is the greatest feeling. I have got emotional many a time after successful events. Money cannot buy that. 

What was the most successful event you've planned in the past? 

The Womad Drum Festival where we had ten international bands with 100 musicians performing in multiple locations. This was a time where we had limited resources and a war in the country and all the concerts were a total success. 

Tell me about one bad experience you've had. Something catastrophic, and how did you handle it? Was the event still a success? 

We had a communication breakdown between the keynote speaker’s computer and the projectors. Since we were running a backup at our controls we managed to change the slides every time the presenter pressed the button for the next slide on his computer. Even he didn’t know that the slides were being projected from the computer at the controls. 

What brings out the most excitement for you in event planning? 

Trying out new equipment at events and also when you produce new entertainment for events. It’s always exciting to do new things. 

Tell me about a time when you avoided a near disastrous situation that almost ruined an event. What was your impact on correcting or avoiding the situation? 

We were flying in three dancers from overseas and on the day of the event only two landed in Colombo as one had a passport issue and couldn’t board the flight. We managed to get a local dancer and choreograph the whole act within a few hours and no one knew that it was a local dancer who performed on stage. All this was done a few hours before the event. 

What are some strategies you use for managing and prioritizing work for yourself when there is too much work and too few staff members to complete the tasks at hand? 

We undertake work that we can handle. We will never take on anything that we cannot deliver for the sake of making money. Also the work at hand is always a priority than the work being negotiated. 

What point in your career did you decide you wanted to be an event planner? 

Since I always had an interest for music, lights and gadgets no sooner I got out of working for an export company I got in to entertainment and event management fulltime. 

Which is your most favourite place on this earth? 

Home. 

Tell me about a time when you received criticism and how you reacted to it. 

It is very difficult to please 100% of your audience as we have a mixed audience at most of our corporate events. We always welcome constructive criticism as it helps us to improve our services. 

Tell me about the project you’re most proud of from your past work history. 

When we did the Coca Cola SABCO Africa & Asia conference in Sri Lanka. The Head of Coke said that he had never presented on a such grand stage and since he was totally satisfied with the services we provided he invited us to manage the following year's conference in Nepal. 

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If 

If you had to describe yourself as detail-oriented or big-picture oriented, which would you choose? Why? 

Detail-oriented as in our business you have to be if you are to be successful. 

What would you do if the DJ is 2 hours late and has not shown up or answers his phone? 

I would take on the responsibility as I first stepped in to the entertainment industry as a DJ 35 years ago and I always have 7000+ songs in my pocket. 

 

If given a complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why? 

I think it would be the entertainment and event industry. I have been in the hotel, tea and export industries and would say that this has been the most satisfying and interesting job I have done. 

If you had to chose one word to describe your 25 years, what would it be? 

Eventful. 

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For Fun 

Which is the best vacation you’ve ever had in your life? 

To the USA with my family. 

List 5 goals on your life's to-do list: 

1. To make our industry a corrupt free industry. 

2. To take a very long vacation and travel the world with my family. 

3. To be able to retire upcountry as that’s where I grew up. 

4. I think I have achieved all the others. 

 

The government? 

To serve us and not themselves. 

Lovers at Independence Square? 

Fantastic. Make love and not war! 

 

Your son in business? 

The best thing that happened to Event Productions. 

 

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka? 

Honest, intelligent and what you see is what you get. 

People who have inspired you, and how? 

My father was an engineer and a jazz musician and very much in to cars and gadgets and I guess that’s how I’m in to music, sound, lights and vehicles. My mother managed the official residences of two Presidents and a Prime Minister and managed all their events and banquets and that’s the event side of me.