Oxford College of Business, Sri Lanka’s premier Business School and its Alumni (OCB Alumni) one of the most prestigious Alumni Associations in the country, once again was in the forefront of sponsoring another unique corporate leadership forum conducted by the world renowned cricket coach and corporate speaker Gary Kirsten.

Oxford College of Business and its Alumni was the Gold Sponsor of the most anticipated corporate leadership program of the year, where Garry Kirsten arguably the world’s best cricket coach addressed a forum of over 500 business leaders from Sri Lanka’s corporate sector where he shared his insights about “how to build a winning team.” The event was organized by 361 Edge and held on the 24th of July 2014 at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Oak Room.

Speaking at this historic event Gary Kirsten said “Everyone wants to feel that they are on a winning team, that the company is moving ahead, and that they are an integral part of the group.” Building a winning team requires more than just hiring a bunch of talented people. It means developing a shared vision, commitment and instilling a “winning” attitude throughout.

He said that building a winning team involves showing your people: your vision for the future, your strategy for getting there, why this is the best strategy, and every achievement that indicates this team is winning. Gray Kirsten also went on to emphasize that perhaps the most difficult part of building a winning team is encouraging positive, informal interaction between team members when you are not present.
Gary Kirsten as a Coach, Mentor & Corporate Speaker

Oxford College of Business and it alumni places a great emphasis on sponsoring and organizing CPD programs in Sri Lanka. “We feel it is our responsibility to nurture and enhance all our stakeholders’ commitment to lifelong learning” says Roshana Rasheed the newly elected president of Oxford College of Business Alumni, “furthermore organizing CPD programs with high profile individuals such as Garry Kirsten adds a lot of value in terms of continuous professional development of individuals.” To some of the greatest players in the history of cricket Gary Kirsten was known by his peers as a man on whom the team could depend in times of crisis. He needed to understand the dynamics that would see them perform consistently over a period of time, when it mattered most. Creating a winning culture and self-belief in the Indian and South African teams was a process. The experience and insight gained throughout his tenure as a Coach of India & South Africa includes far more than cricket itself which all 500 participants experienced firsthand. It is his skill for getting the best out of his players whilst maintaining their respect both on and off the field that has made him an inspirational leader. Most of all the fact that he is a celebrated corporate speaker, who enabled the realization for winning team with intense corporate culture around the globe, is something that was highly appreciated and kept all 500 business leaders enthralled throughout the entire event.

A reputation of similar sorts

While Gary Kirsten may be regarded as arguably the best cricket coach the cricketing world has seen in recent times, Oxford College of Business has a reputation of similar sorts. Oxford College of Business has reinvented post-graduate, undergraduate and professional education in Sri Lanka. OCB’s mission is “To develop skilled business leaders for industry and business, by offering value-based quality education’ in the field of Business.” Oxford College of Business is the only education provider in Sri Lanka that hold dual ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications, offering its customers top quality education whilst maintaining international quality standards.

Just like the reputation Gary Kirsten holds which includes coaching the Indian Cricket team and wining the World Cup in 2011, making the Indian Cricket team No.1 in Test Cricket (2009) and being the coach of the South African cricket team when they were the No.1 ranked Test cricket team in the world. Oxford College of Business too has a similar story to tell; over the past 11 years Oxford College of Business has earned a reputation for producing some of the country’s most respected and sought after business leaders. Recently Oxford College of Business was also recognized as the 2nd runner-up among all small business entities in Sri Lanka, when they won the bronze award at the National Business Excellence Awards 2013 awarded by the National Chamber of Commerce (NCCSL) and also became the 1st and only education provider to be listed among the 15 Best Companies to work for in Sri Lanka (2014) by Great Place to work Institute in partnership with The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and LMD magazine. Over the past 11 years Oxford College of Business has produced world prize winners at all foreign affiliated programs offered. The academic excellence Oxford College of Business boasts of is unparallel and unmatched by any other private higher education provider in the country.