For displaying bold leadership and driving a team of five that has grown to 50 members in a short span of two years as well as propelling his company to greater heights and contributing to the growth of the life insurance industry in Sri Lanka, Lahiru Maduranga from Softlogic Life Insurance PLC was named Rookie Insurance Agency Leader of the Year at the 5th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards 2020.
Lahiru is a dynamic agency team leader who stepped into the leadership role in 2017. He has built what started off as a team of five to 50 members in a short span of two years. Despite the curve balls that were thrown his way, from economic fluctuations to political instabilities in the country, Lahiru and his team have defied the odds and come out on top. In 2019, his team recorded the highest Annualized New Business Premium in the company and the industry.
He believes that “You are only as good as your team” and inspires his team to go the distance. He personally conducts training programmes outside of the regular company sessions, broadening their expertise in sales pitching and conducting role plays to improve their communication and negotiation skills. He has banded together several top performers and senior members to act as mentors for the new comers, thereby ensuring that a learning culture prevails among the team at all times. Under his guidance, two members from his team successfully made it to Million Dollar Round Table in 2019.
Lahiru’s long list of achievements in 2019 include having completed the MDRT Life membership in 2019; achieved Court of the Table recognition for the fourth time; awarded the Best Territorial Manager 2019 at the Softlogic Life Annual Awards; and won the Softlogic Life Platinum Award for Top Individual - New Business Performers in 2019, the Platinum Award for Team Management - New Business Performers in 2019, and the LIMRA Management Award in 2019. He has been appointed as the area chair in the 2020 MDRT Membership Communications Committee.
He has a master of business administration from Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK and completed a post graduate diploma in marketing from Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing.
Balancing work, he has volunteered in activities including children’s education, donations to schools in rural Sri Lanka and the Reforestation and Plantation Society in Sri Lanka.
He believes that being on a journey as a team has much more value, and strives to do right and what is best for every team member’s growth.
The 5th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards was made possible by organisers Asia Insurance Review and Asia Advisers Network, co-organiser LIMRA, and strategic partner AIA. Winners were selected in an independently-audited judging process. More information on the Awards and winners can be found here.
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Check out the other winners:
14 winners from seven markets crowned at the 5th Asia Trusted Life Agents & Advisers Awards
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