Nationality Sri Lankan Website chevaandaniel.com | Name Chevaan Daniel | |
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Full Name Chevaan Devavarathan Daniel Occupation Group Director - Capital Maharaja Organization (Pvt) Ltd. | ||
Chevaan Devavarathan Daniel (b. May 11, 1978), Group Director at The Capital Maharaja Organization. A Fulbright Scholar, and an Eisenhower Global Fellow (2017) he was twice selected as one of Sri Lanka's 40 Under 40 outstanding Young Business Leaders. . The first Sri Lankan Eisenhower Fellow to receive a Special Award (UTC Fellowship, 2017). He sits on the Global Advisory Board of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative at Brown University. Daniel leads Capital Maharaja’s Gammadda Initiative, one of the largest Sri Lankan humanitarian projects.
Contents
- news1stexclusive dr abdul kalam the 11th president of india interviewed by chevaan daniel
- Early life and family
- Career
- Humanitarian work
- Education
- Honours and awards
- Controversy
- Music Poetry
- Other interests
- References
news1stexclusive dr abdul kalam the 11th president of india interviewed by chevaan daniel
Early life and family
Daniel was born to parents of mixed racial heritage. Having begun at several rural schools, he was admitted to S. Thomas College Mount Lavinia in 1988. He joined Capital Maharaja as a part-time typist in the newsroom.
Career
A Group Director at Capital Maharaja, which is Sri Lanka’s largest & most diversified privately held conglomerate. He is the youngest member of the board (‘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 launched eezee2.com, Sri Lanka’s first classified advertisement website, in 1998. Daniel launched Sri Lanka’s first ever SMS News Alert Service in 2000. He worked as the Head of Media to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board for a period of two years, from 2000-2002, including a stint for the ICC.
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.
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. Subsequently he was invited by the United Nations for Global Consultation on Humanitarian Efforts which was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2015. Daniel was the Master of Ceremony for the duration of the WHS Global Consultation. Daniel delivered an official statement at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey in May, 2016.
Education
With a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in political science, Daniel was selected as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow in 2010, 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 and MSNBC in New York City in 2010/2011.
Honours and 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. In 2012 & 2013, he was picked as one of Sri Lanka’s 40 Under 40 Business Leaders by Echelon Magazine. 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 Gold Medal for Business Achievement. He, was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Asia Foundations flagship initiative, Asia 21, in May 2016, a group of global leaders selected from spheres including politics, Science, Business and Social Work. In 2017, he was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship- Multination Programme and awarded the first Eiesenhower Special Award conferred on a Sri Lankan- The UTC Fellowship, 2017. In 2017, he was appointed to the Global Advisory Board of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative at Brown University.
Controversy
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, and remained in Sri Lanka turning down many offers for asylum and residence, overseas.
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.
Music & Poetry
An avid composer, singer & lyricist, Chevaan has several English & Sinhalese singles to his name, most of which he has composed and shun himself. He has also composed music for several national programmes including campaigns for peace & reconciliation.
Other interests
An Amateur Historian, specializing in the Anuradhapura Period in Sri Lankan History, he has several research papers to his credit, including the controversial ‘The ‘Greeks & Persians of Hela-Diva’. Daniel is a Krav Maga, Taequando (Brown Belt), martial artist.