team behind
the dream
meet our leadership team
DUSTY ALAHAKOON
Dusty is the Chairman of NEXT Campus and a Non-Executive Director at Pepper Cube Consultants and the former Managing Director of Heineken Lanka. He is a corporate trainer, speaker at forums and a lecturer for Master’s programs specializing in strategy, leadership and change.
Dusty has over 25 years industry experience with leading multinational companies, in diverse sectors, in different functions and leadership levels. He started his career in the pharmaceutical industry (1991-1995) and then moved to Caterpillar Marketing Services (1996-1998). He then moved into brand management in FMCG (1999) before taking a research role at British American Tobacco (BAT) PLC Colombo. Finally, he was Head of Brands at BAT (2000-05), and moved as Head of Marketing to Coca-Cola Sri Lanka (2006-11). Currently, he is the Managing Director at Heineken Lanka since 2011.
Dusty completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) UK and became a Fellow Member and a Charted Marketer. He completed his MBA in 2002. Dusty is the first Sri Lankan to be selected and graduate (2017-19) from the ‘Executive Masters for Coaching & Consulting for Change (EMC)’ at INSEAD Campus. Currently, he is reading for his doctorate.
Dusty has been trained in University of Pretoria in Johannesburg, INSEAD Campus in Fontainebleau and Harvard Business School in Boston on leadership and strategic management. His areas of research interests revolve around managing change both at individual and corporate level with particular focus on digital transformation and
CEO succession and transition.
In his free time, he enjoys teaching, cycling, and travelling to new destinations. He is the founder of “Life after School Foundation” dedicated for career guidance and shaping future talent for
corporate sector.
KUMUDU ABEYAWARDANE
Kumudu joined NEXT Campus as the founder General Manager in 2007, and is currently the CGO of NEXT Campus.
Kumudu started her career as a professional banker at HSBC, she first moved to the education sector when she joined British Council in 2002. Prior to joining NEXT, Kumudu was attached to ICBT Campus Sri Lanka as the Head of Postgraduate Division, where she was responsible for the delivery of multiple Master’s courses and a DBA.
Kumudu has worked with multiple University partners and awarding bodies from US, UK and Australia.Kumudu holds a BA (Hons) in Social Sciences, a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Economics and an MBA from Birmingham City University. In addition, she holds a full professional qualification from Institute of Bankers and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) Sri Lanka.
She is currently a doctoral candidate on the PhD in Educational Research – Higher Education at University of Lancaster, UK.
MEET OUR TEAM
Tuan Mubarak Saideen
Education Advisor
Tuan Mubarak Saideen
MBA UK, PostGrad Dip UK, Adv Dip Mgt USJP
Tuan Mubarak Saideen currently serves as Education Advisor in admissions, who enrolls students for a series of UK Master’s qualifications and serves as a part-time tutor at Next Campus. He has over 15 years’ experience in numerous industries such as pharmaceutical & healthcare, customer care, event management and higher education.
During his tenure in different organizations, he was able to achieve multiple accolades for his performances, product knowledge and detailing skills. Tuan also serves as a compere at events during his free time and dreams to become a voice over artist as well.
Tuan completed his MBA from Birmingham City University, his Postgrad Diploma from Cardiff Metropolitan University, and his Advanced Diploma in Management from University of Sri Jayawardanapura. He also serves as a Lion in the International Lions movement (District 306 C2) and held the office once as the world’s youngest Leo District President when he led Leo District 306 C2 in 2005-06.
Tuan is a Cricket fanatic, a Coffee addict and a lover of Cooking which are his three Cs of affection. He believes and works wholeheartedly towards changing lives and enjoys seeing the students he enrolls achieving the dreams of their lives.
Shashrika De Mel
Education Advisor
Shashrika De Mel
Education Advisor
Shashrika De Mel currently working as an Education Advisor at Next campus and has 10 plus years’ experience in corporate sector. He is having experience in banking sector, logistics sector as well as education sector and he is qualified with a Master of Business Administration from University of Bedfordshire and a Diploma in Brand Management at Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing.
He is one of the most senior Education Advisors at next campus who helps students to understand the program as well as showing them to select the most appropriate course that will suit the student profile.
Shashrika along side with his colleague Tuan take responsibility of the Admissions department of Next Campus. He is a big Fan of cricket and loves to hang around with family and friends
He believes the workplace should be a happy place and enjoy every bit of it.
Lakmal Perera
Finance Manager
Lakmal Perera
Finance Manager
Lakmal Perera currently serves as the Finance Manager at Next Campus. He is a young and dynamic individual who has over 08 years of experience in finance and accounting sector, working with leading services and manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. He is an excellent team player with very easy-going attitude.
Lakmal is a BA (Hons) Business Administration graduate holder and a finalist from Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Dilshan Ramesh Casseer
Manager-Research New Product Development
Dilshan Ramesh Casseer
MSc, BSc. Eng. (Hons), MIET (UK), AMIE(SL)
Dilshan Casseer presently works in the capacity of Manager-Research New Product Development at Next Campus, with significant experience in the industry of higher education in both Engineering and Aviation disciplines. He is currently reading for his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He is a registered engineer in the Engineering Council of Sri Lanka, a member of Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK and an Associate Member of Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka.
With 5 scientific publications in international journals and conferences, he is an avid researcher with proficiency in both corporate and academic research. His current area of focus of research is on Computational Fluid Dynamics and Combustion Modelling.
Further, he is experienced in research and development for aviation and education industry, formation and continuous quality improvement of educational programs, and delivery of lectures. He has previously been employed at Asian Academy of Aeronautics, University of Moratuwa and General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, and has obtained his Master’s degree from University of Moratuwa. He is skilled in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Mechanical Design and Simulation, Machine Learning, MATLAB/Python and PLC/PIC Programming. Additionally, he is ASNT level-II qualified for Non-Destructive testing in Liquid Penetrant Testing (LPT), Ultrasonic Testing (UT) and Magnetic Particle Testing (MPT).