Prakash R. Mirchandani
Council Member of Australian Institute of International Affairs
Prakash holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Columbia University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law at Tufts University in Massachusetts (The Fletcher school was founded jointly by Harvard and Tufts Universities).
In 1982, he incorporated and managed Favourite (USA) Ltd in New York City, the first company set up in the USA owned by a Sri Lankan Apparel Manufacturer. This operation rapidly generated significant export orders for the parent company as well as for other exporters in Sri Lanka and India.In 1988, he returned to Sri Lanka and served as a senior director of the Favourite Group, whose activities included Apparel Exports, Premium Imported Beverage Distribution, Real Estate Investment and Development, Domestic Aviation, and Strategic and Financial Investments.
Prakash later returned to the US, where he engaged in business consultancy work across various market sectors and also negotiated an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka for one of the world’s largest manufacturers of bridal and evening wear. From 1997 to 2000 he was an Assistant Vice President and Vice President in the finance division of the Strategic Research Institute in New York, where he produced and ran innovative conferences on “Mid- Market Finance” held across the US featuring industry leaders from across the financial world. During part of that time, he was also the Sri Lanka reporter for “Janes Sentinel- South Asia Security Assessments” and covered military and political developments there for that highly respected publication. In that period, Prakash was also a faculty member in the Business Department of Berkeley College, New York City, and an Adjunct Professor in the International Trade and Marketing Department of the Fashion Institute of Technology (State University of New York, New York City) lecturing on international trade economics and global marketing. On relocating once again to Colombo in 2000 and until January 2018, he served as Managing Director of FG Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., a holding company with diversified interests including strategic and financial investments, real estate, and food and beverage import and distribution.
Prakash is a former Vice president and Interim President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka, a life member and former President of the Sri Lanka America Society, a member of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and a Council Member/Director of the Australian Institute of International Affairs , Victoria (AIIAV). He also currently co – heads the “South Asia Seminar Series” at the AIIAV, is a member of their investment committee, and is a Commissioning Editor for Australian Outlook, the weekly online journal of International Affairs.
Prakash now divides his time between Sri Lanka and Australia and engages in trade consultancy - most recently working with a Singapore/German company to successfully introduce their digitally delivered soft and behavioural skills programs to top corporates in Sri Lanka, some of whom launched them across their global manufacturing locations.