R.A. Fernando is an Alumnus of the University of Cambridge (Wolfson College) having completed his Master of Studies in Sustainable Leadership in 2014 and Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business in 2008/9 . He also has a MBA from the University of Colombo and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (UK).

At the INSEAD Business School (France), he completed a Diploma in International Management and the Advanced Management Program. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration from the European University – Business School, Switzerland.

He is the Operations Director of the Malaysia Blue Ocean Strategy Institute. His career with Multi-nationals – Unilever, Sterling health International, Smithkline Beecham International covered Africa, Middle East and Asia in CEO and Marketing positions between1981-2003. He was the first CEO of SLINTEC (Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology) 2008-2010. He was also the United Nations Global Compact Focal point for Sri Lanka 2003-2010 and founder of UN Global Compact Sri Lanka in 2010.

In Academia, a visiting faculty member of the INSEAD Advanced Management Program between 2005-2010 and on the current faculty of CEDEP (Centre for European Executive Development). He has been an Executive in Residence at the INSEAD Social Innovation centre from September 2010 to date. He was a visiting faculty member at the Deusto Business School, Universtat of Pompeu Fabra in Spain and University of Colombo MBA programs where he taught ‘Strategic Corporate Sustainability’. Babson College USA published 3 Giving voice to values cases on his work in Kenya and Vietnam.

In September 2007 he won a “Global Strategy Leadership award” at the World Strategy Summit for his work on Sustainability –led branding.