Aban Pestonjee Graced: One Of the Most Admired Leaders of Sri Lanka

Aban Pestonjee, Chairperson and Founder of Abans Group of Companies, was bestowed the honour of being one of the most admired leaders of Sri Lanka at the recently -concluded Most Admired Companies Awards held at the Lotus Ballroom, BMICH – Colombo. 

The third edition of this event was organised by the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and is recognised as the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka.

This prestigious accolade was accepted by Rusi Pestonjee – on behalf of Aban Pestonjee – at the glittering ceremony graced by Chief Guest, General Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of Defence Staff. 

These laurels were conferred in light of Pestonjee’s inspiring entrepreneurial journey from commencing her business as a modest corner store on Galle Road, Bambalapitiya in 1968, to the massive expansion into a renowned conglomerate spanning several industry sectors. 

Sparking from the fierce desire to make easier the daily lives of homemakers such as herself, Pestonjee set forth upon her goal by purchasing home appliances at auctions and then reselling them with a trusted guarantee, which emerged as the core of her business.When Sri Lanka converted into an open economy in 1978, Pestonjee began writing regularly to large British companies that distributed popular global home and kitchen appliance brands. 

Despite facing many setbacks, her determination and persistence gained the trust and confidence of Electrolux, who became the first international brand to join hands with Abans to enter the Sri Lankan market. Within a short period of time, more famous brands such as Hoover, Pyrex and Russell Hobbs requested to be partnered with Abans, and the portfolio of top quality brands available to Sri Lankans steadily increased.  

Following the immensely-valuable principles of Honesty, Hard Work and Perseverance, Pestonjee’s undying efforts and sharp business acumen have laid the foundation to building an extremely successful corporate giant and ever evolving market sphere, with the inclusion of international brands such as LG, Apple, Under Armour, Hugo Boss, Skechers, Hoover, HP, Corning, Corelle, Pyrex, Acer, Electrolux, JBL, MSI, Mistral, Panasonic, Lenovo, Philips, Titan, The FaceShop, ELBA, Hyundai, Hero and many more. 

Due to her outstanding business model, she has been interviewed by Prof. Geoffrey Jones of Harvard Business School on the topic of ‘Creating Emerging Markets’.

Amongst the repertoire of accolades received by Pestonjee are the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce “Unstoppable – The Future Belongs to Her” Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Awards, the Gold Award in the Extra Large Business Enterprise Category, Sri Lanka’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Derana Sri Lankan of the Year Awards 2017, Leading Woman Entrepreneur of the World Award presented by the Princess of Thailand in 2006, the Global Strategy Leadership Award at the World Strategy Summit and the Award of Excellence for Woman Achievers for Outstanding Achievement from the SAARC Women’s Association in 2000.