Rohantha Athukorala has been honoured with the prestigious Rotarian of the Year 2025/26 award at the annual Rotary Awards Ceremony, widely known as the “Rotary Oscars”, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Rotary and community service across Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The award was presented by Delvin Pereira at a ceremony held at ITC Ratnadipa. Distinguished guests included Stephanie Urchick and K. R. Ravindran.
Dr. Athukorala was recognised for his exceptional expertise in project management, strategic communications and brand building, which has significantly enhanced Rotary’s visibility, effectiveness and community impact throughout the region.
This marks the third major Rotary honour of his career. He was named Most Outstanding Rotarian of the Year in 2019 and received The Exceptional Rotarian award during the 2015 Rotary year. In 2021, Rotary International selected him as one of only six People of Action honourees worldwide, making him the first Sri Lankan Rotarian to receive the distinction.
Outside Rotary, Dr. Athukorala has built an accomplished international career spanning more than two decades with Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever and DiverseyLever. He has also served as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, while contributing to development initiatives with United Nations Office for Project Services in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
An alumnus of Harvard University, he currently serves as Vice Chairman of the World Rural Tourism Organisation, CEO of Clootrack Software Labs, and Director of Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology and Lotus Hydro Power PLC. Accepting the honour, Dr. Athukorala said Sri Lanka should strive to become a US$200 billion economy while maintaining a strong focus on poverty eradication.
