Chevaan Daniel

Chevaan Devavarathan Daniel
Born Chevaan Devavarathan Daniel
(1978-05-11) May 11, 1978
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality Sri Lanka Sri Lankan
Occupation Group Director - Capital Maharaja Organization (Pvt) Ltd.
Website chevaandaniel.com

Chevaan Devavarathan Daniel, (Born May 11, 1978), Group Director at The Capital Maharaja Organization [1][2] is one of Sri Lanka’s most controversial business leaders. A Fulbright Scholar,[3][4] he was twice selected as one of Sri Lanka's 40 Under 40 outstanding Young Business Leaders.

Early Life & Family

Born to a middle-class family in the suburbs of Colombo, Chevaan’s ethnic background has been the subject of much interest. His father is Ranjan Daniel (1950-2012) a Tamil, hailing from the village of Uduvil in Jaffna, while his mother is part Southern Sinhalese from Wakwella, Galle and part Dutch-Burgher. He is married to Dr. Raaidah Wahab.[5][6]

Chevaan went to several rural schools before being finally admitted to S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia in 1988. Chevaan's maternal Grandfather, Harold Seneviratne, was a Saxophonist and Jazz musician with a career spanning over 50 years.[7] Daniel has one son, Chelian Aleksander Daniel.

Career

Having begun as a typist/translator at the MTV Newsroom, he steadily rose in the ranks to be appointed to the main board of the organization in 2013, as one of the youngest Group Directors in the company’s 80 year history (‘Cornerman’, page 138, ISBN 978-955-4953-00-0). He has consistently attributed his success to his mentor, R. Rajamahendran, The Chairman/Managing Director of The Maharaja Organization. Early on, Daniel displayed his entrepreneurial spirit by launching a successful E-Commerce company as an undergraduate,[8] while also working as the Media Manager to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board for a period of two years, from 2000-2002.

Daniel also spent a few years working for the Victoria's Secret brand at MAS Holdings, under the tutelage of Dian Gomes. However, he is perhaps best known as an English News Anchor on MTV Sri Lanka, becoming a household name in his early twenties.[9][10][11]

Humanitarian Work

Daniel represented The Capital Maharaja Organization, at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) - Regional Consultation which was held in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, in July 2015.[12][13][14] Subsequently he was invited by the United Nations for Global Consultation on Humanitarian Efforts which was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2015.[15] Daniel was the Master of Ceremony for the duration of the WHS Global Consultation.[16]

Education

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics & a Masters in Political Science, Daniel was selected as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in 2010,[17] a part of the Fulbright Programme administered by the US State Department. He was admitted to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where he specialized in Digital Media under Dr. Bill Silcock. While living in the US, he also worked for NBC & MSNBC in New York City in 2010/2011.

Honours & Awards

Daniel has been widely recognized for his rapid rise in the world of business in general and media in particular. In 2007 he was awarded the Most Outstanding Young Person of the Year award by Junior Chamber International.[18][19] In 2012 & 2013, he was picked as one of Sri Lanka’s 40 Under 40 Business Leaders by Echelon Magazine.[20] In 2012, Daniel was also selected by the Asia Foundation to its Asia 21 list of young leaders. In 2013, he was awarded The Maharaja Organizations most coveted medal for Business Achievement.[21]

Controversy

One of Sri Lanka’s most controversial CEOs, Daniel has endured many an adversity including threats to his life, investigations and inquiries.[22][23]

In 2009, after his station was attacked and burned by unidentified gunmen, Daniel was interviewed on CNN about the incident. Soon after, Sri Lanka’s former Defense Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa singled him out as a terrorist and ordered his arrest. Daniel was forced to make a dangerous exit out of Sri Lanka but returned within a week, refusing to remain a fugitive.[24][25][26] In 2010, he was famously ‘hauled out’ of Temple Trees for standing his ground against the then President, Mahinda Rajapaksa when warned not to criticize the government.[27]

Music & Poetry

Daniel has recorded several singles in both English & Sinhalese. His most recent release, ‘Obe Adare’,[28][29] reached #2 on the Sri Lankan Chart Show Rasa Risi Gee. His English singles include, ‘Heart Like a Hurricane’ [30] (2010), ‘The World for you’(1997),[31] & ‘Eventually’(2012).[32] Daniel is an avid English poet and his work was until recently published online.

Speeches & Interviews

Daniel is an acclaimed speaker. He has addressed several international forums including the World Media Forum and the Global Leadership Summit, held in Washington DC. More recently, he delivered a talk along with former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain Kumar Sangakkara & World Champion Speaker Dananjaya Hettiarachchi.[33][34][35][36] In 2015, he came out of self imposed television exile to interview Former Indian President Dr. Abdul Kalam.[37]

References

  1. ↑ organization-limited.html/ "Appointed Group Directors of Capital Maharaja Organization Limited" Check |url= value (help).
  2. ↑ "Group Directors of Capital Maharaja Organization".
  3. ↑ "2011 Humphrey Fellows Profile: Chevaan Daniel".
  4. ↑ "Chevaan Daniel: Audacity".
  5. ↑ "Sunday Island Face to Face :"Always Focused on the Bigger Picture - Chevaan Daniel"".
  6. ↑ "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING".
  7. ↑ v=jEOPFgEOtM4/ "Harold Seneviratne So Deep Is The Night" Check |url= value (help).
  8. ↑ "Start-up firms seek recognition from business community".
  9. ↑ "Chevaan DANIEL on TV from over a decade ago".
  10. ↑ "The three D's that are Chevaan".
  11. ↑ "Image and personality on TV".
  12. ↑ "UN invites The Capital Maharaja Organisation to World Humanitarian Summit".
  13. ↑ "Sri Lanka Represents World Humanitarian Summit – Regional Consultation, South and Central Asia".
  14. ↑ "UN invites TCMOL to World Humanitarian Summit".
  15. ↑ "Capital Maharaja invited to Geneva by UN for global consultation on humanitarian efforts".
  16. ↑ "World Humanitarian Summit begins in Geneva".
  17. ↑ "Humphrey Fellows 2010-2011".
  18. ↑ "Chevaan bags TOYP award".
  19. ↑ "Chevaan bags TOYP award".
  20. ↑ "Sri Lanka’s "40 under 40? business leaders".
  21. ↑ "Channel Head Chevaan Daniel is Capital Maharaja Organisation's Executive of the Year".
  22. ↑ threats-for-resisting-government-mp%E2%80%99s-thuggery/ "Journalists face death threats for resisting Government MP’s thuggery" Check |url= value (help).
  23. ↑ chief.html/ "Attempted arrest of MTV Channel 1 Chief Chevaan Daniel was yet another blow to media freedom" Check |url= value (help).
  24. ↑ "Gota instructs Police to arrest MTV News Chief Chevaan Daniels".
  25. ↑ "Anniversary of terror attack on MTV-MBC Radio/TV Station".
  26. ↑ "Chevaan Daniel CNN".
  27. ↑ consequences/ "WikiLeaks: Rajapaksa, In A Harsh Tone,Told Daniels That MTV Would Face Consequences" Check |url= value (help).
  28. ↑ "Obe Adare Mata Amila Manikak Wage - Chevaan Daniel".
  29. ↑ "Obe Adare Mata Amila Manikak Wage - Chevaan Daniel".
  30. ↑ "Heart like a hurricane- Chevaan Daniel".
  31. ↑ "The world for you Chevaan Daniel".
  32. ↑ "Eventually- Chevaan Daniel".
  33. ↑ "Sangakkara, Dananjaya & Chevaan keep audience spellbound".
  34. ↑ ""Don't let anyone belittle your ambition"- Chevaan Daniel".
  35. ↑ "Chevaan Daniel's speech at Sports Award Ceremony of Visakha Vidyalaya".
  36. ↑ "Chevaan Daniel's speech at Sigiriya".
  37. ↑ "#News1stExclusive : Dr. Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India interviewed by Chevaan Daniel".

External links

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