Strathmore's Roundtable Biography for
Felix N. Rodrigo

	Felix N. Rodrigo
Biography	I was born in Sri Lanka. It was there that I completed my schooling and engaged in numerous sporting activities, namely rugby, swimming and squash. I also underwent my initial training as a Marine Engineer in Sri Lanka before joining the Merchant Marine and pursuing my professional studies in the United Kingdom. My time in the Merchant Marine spanned 13 memorable years. It was a time best described as character building, as I gained an appreciation and understanding of the cultures and traditions of the various people I worked with in the numerous countries I visited. The highlight of those years was when I was requested by the shipping company at the time to sail as guarantee engineer for one of the ships which was being sold to new owners. Following my marriage, I made a decision to give up life at sea and find a job ashore. I migrated to Sydney, Australia, with my wife and two year old daughter. Shortly afterwards, my second daughter was born. Life in the new country with a young family was challenging. The first few years was spent in the hospitality industry, doing shift work which ultimately culminated in a promotion to chief engineer in a leading hotel chain. The decline in the tourism industry in the early 1990’s led to the sale of the hotel’s premises by the developers and the hotel chain losing management rights for the building. IT was during this period I achieved what I consider to be a major milestone in my career. Over a period of three years, my work in rectifying the defects associated with this property and improving its functionality was instrumental in achieving the final sale. After leaving the hospitality industry I moved into the commercial building sector, where I worked for a leading engineering consultancy firm in Australia. My primary responsibility was overseeing the management of numerous bank occupied buildings with the state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. My initial engagement with the consultancy firm was for three months, however due to the improved management and cost effective practices I introduced, the bank extended the management of the these buildings and consequently, my term of the contract, for 3 years. Following the consultancy I moved to my present company CB Richard Ellis which is a commercial real estate company and one of the largest in the world. I have been with them for the past 10 years. During my time with this company I have steadily progressed with increased responsibilities. My present role is Associate Director and entails managing properties across Australia for foreign investors. This is a very challenging and varied role as each investor is unique in regards to their rules, regulations and reporting structures. Many capital works projects of varying size are undertaken together with the regular planned maintenance in order to enhance the standard of the buildings and augment the value of the asset. Our present emphasis is on sustainability and implementing energy saving measures to achieve the best Green Star rating for the individual edifices. My efforts in this regard were recognized in a feature by Sydney Water’s publication “The Conserver” in 2005. With the changing environment and legislation governing the commercial building industry it is imperative to keep up with the latest technology and apply theses techniques where possible to the successful and efficient management of the buildings in my portfolio. The diversity of the portfolio is such that not all properties introduced to the portfolio are well maintained. Once in a while a property which has been neglected due to complacency and financial constraints is acquired into the portfolio. To turn such a property around in a space of 12 to 18 months gives me a great sense of pride and achievement. I would like to be best known for my dedication and perseverance to see a job well done.
Industry	Real Estate
Title	Associate Director, Asset Services
Expertise	Engineering, Asset Services
Current Organization	CB Richard Ellis
Type of Organization	Commercial Real Estate firm
Major Product	Strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management and research and consulting
Area of Distribution	National/International
University/Degree	Class 1 Marine Engineer
Born	Colombo, Sri Lanka
Hobbies & Sports	Fine dining, the opera
Work History	First Engineer, Gold Star Line, 1977-1989; Assistant Plant Operator, 1989; Maintenance Engineer, Ramada Renaissance Hotel, 1989-1991; Chief Engineer, Ramada Hotel Parramatta, 1991-92; Chief Engineer, Hotel Nikko Sydney, 1992-1995; Senior Mechanical Engineer (Contract)-Asset Management, Lincolne Scott Australia Pty Ltd, 1996-2000; Associate Director, Asset Services, CB Richard Ellis, 2001-present
Children	Natassia, Leisha
Spouse	Shirani Visvanathan
Married	August 23, 1986
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