David Hopps – David is the odd one out
in the Red Dot team, being the only one based in England.
A founding director of Red Dot with Charlie Austin,
he runs the UK office, a role which primarily involves
dreaming of lazy days on Sri Lankan beaches while wrestling
with Red Dot finances. He visits Sri Lanka regularly,
whereupon he invariably attempts to escape Charlie’s
demanding meetings diary and re-explore a country that
he first fell in love with 15 years ago on an England
A cricket tour. He is also a senior cricket writer on
The Guardian and has covered numerous overseas tours.
He no longer has time to write cricket books, not that
anyone seems to have noticed.
 Charlie
Austin - Charlie moved to Sri Lanka in pursuit of work experience with an environmental NGO after completing a Masters degree at Sussex University. However, upon arriving in Sri Lanka in September 1999, his career soon took a different direction as he was appointed Country Manager of Cricinfo.com, the world’s leading cricket website. Having fallen for Sri Lanka’s charms, he also set-up Red Dot with David Hopps in the same year. He heads our sales team in Colombo and also plays a lead role in the development of our new products and services. His special areas of expertise include boutique hotels, villa holidays and family itineraries. His passions are food and cricket. As well as being a director of Red Dot and Cricinfo, he runs a sports management business with his wife, Suthami, called Austin Management Limited (AML) that manages several Sri Lanka cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga. He is also the co-owner of ADL alongside Mike Davis, an old school friend from Bryanston School in Dorset. The pair are opening their first boutique hotel in September 2008 called The Wallawwa, a luxurious 15-bedrom property near Colombo airport.
 Suren
Ladd – An old boy of St. Peters College,
Colombo, Suren joined Red Dot in 2004 to assist with
marketing, sales and development. He is a masters graduate
in Business Administration from the University of Wales
and was interviewing Charlie while completing his thesis
in sports marketing when he found that Charlie was also
interviewing him, and had offered him a job. Suren jostles
Red Dot with weekend teaching, including subjects such
as economics and business studies. He also does volunteer
work for the British Council and other community-based
development organisations to be productive during his
free time. A wily off spinner for the Red Dot cricket
side, he regular attends his old school’s rugby
and cricket matches and yearns for Liverpool win the
Premiership.
 Kantha
Senenayake - Another St Peter’s College
old boy, Kantha had a number of computer based jobs
before being snapped up by Red Dot. Kantha came to the
company in 2003 and has the important job of keeping
our website online and up to date. As well as a skilled
web designer, Kantha is a talented sportsman. He is
a keen rugby player and, at his most rotund, has often
been mistaken for the former Sri Lanka captain, Arjuna
Ranatunga, while on the cricket field. Christina’s
jogging programme should reduce the chances of that.
He also enjoys playing Sri Lankan folk music on the
guitar.
 Dirk
de Silva - Has settled quickly to his role
as sales consultant since joining us in early 2006 and
is already a respected and valuable member of the team.
Educated at St Thomas College, in Colombo, he has a
keen interest in driving and occasionally racing –
and is particularly drawn to driving on rough outdoor
terrain. Jeremy Clarkson, though, he is not. He says
of his role at Red Dot: ``My profession grants me the
opportunity to reveal the invigorating beauty of the
earth to those who seek to find that inner peace through
nature’s humbling, picturesque beauty. This by
far is the most fulfilling part of my life.’’
How can you turn down an offer like that?
 Ayanthi
Samarajewa – Ayanthi joined the Red Dot
sales team in October 2006 after two years’ experience
in the travel industry. She gained an honours degree
in commerce in 2005 from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura.
Her interest include reading, travelling and mostly
bird watching. She plans to get the ‘birdwatching
bug’ in to Red Dot and have the privilege of having
her hobby as part of her job.
 Kishani
Gunewardene - Joined Red Dot’s Colombo
office in May as a travel writer and tour development
consultant. She is an ardent traveller and a closet
historian/ architect/ interior designer/ photographer
– and the Red Dot experience enables her to combine
all her interests for the purpose of promoting Sri Lanka.
She is also a qualified special education director and
family counsellor and runs a charity in Colombo for
children and young adults with intellectual impairment.
 Jagathsingh
Jayasingh - Jagath joined Red Dot Tours as
an Operations Executive in December 2006 after a successful
four-year stint with Walkers Tours. He is well regarded
in the Sri Lankan travel industry He is an old boy of
St Thomas College with an aptitude for cricket and foot
ball. He loves to go white water rafting. He still has
a special affinity for his home town, Hatton, deep in
the Sri Lankan highlands.
 Nikki
Watson - joined Red Dot in July 2007. She spent
a successful three years with Emirates Airlines, training
in Dubai in reservations, ticketing and holidays. She
worked initially in the reservations department and
then with Emirates Holidays. She left Emirates when
she got married, and worked for a time alongside her
husband in events promotions. Red Dot has given her
a chance to move back into travel. She was schooled
at St Bridget's convent school in Colombo. Her interests
are travelling, sports -- particularly badminton, athetics
and swimming -- and wildlife.
 Anthony
Lance Felsinger - joined Red Dot in 2007 as
a travel assistant, and ranks as one the most artistic
members of our team. He trains ands conducts school
choirs and also is skilled in modern Kandyan dancing.
"Music is a part of my life," he says, although
he mostly has to manage without it during working hours.
He also loves safaris and has a keen interest in wild
animals. Lance is a great enthusiast who says he loves
working for Red Dot because ``it’s a place which
you can discover the world's most beautiful places.''
That's by far the nicest thing anyone has said about
our new office.
 Ishan
Thrimanne - Ishan joined Red Dot Tours as a
Senior Operations Co-ordinator in July 2007 after a
successful eight-year stint with Aitken Spence Travels.
He is well regarded in the Sri Lankan travel industry
and known for his easy-going nature and sense of humour,
both of which come in particularly handy on the most
stressful days in the Colombo office. He is an old boy
of St Peters College with an aptitude for cricket and
rugby but his main passion in life has always been the
wild. A love for nature and wildlife -- especially snakes
-- led him to join the young zoologists' association
of Sri Lanka at an early age. He also has an extensive
knowledge on adventure sports and is says that he is
ever willing "to try out the impossible.'' We will
have to put that to the test.
 Kosala
Abeyratna - Kosala joined Red Dot Tours as
a Sales Consultant in September 2007 after five years'
experience in travel industry. He is an old boy of Ananda
College, Colombo. He loves to discover untouched places,
go white water rafting and cycling in the dry zone.
Another Red Dot employee with an in-depth knowledge
of the island. He is also a keen birdwatcher. Since
he joined Red Dot we have also discovered that he can
sing and dance. His most recent pastime has been cricket
-- at the last time of checking he had yet to take a
wicket or score a six.
 Thusitha
De Silva - Thusitha studied and worked in Australia
for more than five years at the turn of the century
before returning to Sri Lanka to take up a post with
Jetwing Travels. He joined Red Dot as a senior sales
consultant in December 2007 and his efficiency, positive
outlook and keen sense of humour has already enhanced
our sales team. A former Head Prefect at St Thomas’
College, one of Colombo’s most prestigious, he
gained a business degree at the University of Technology
in Sydney, specialising in tourism and is now doing
research in his spare time to complete his MBA. He is
a licensed tourist guide lecturer with a sound knowledge
of the country and is particularly passionate about
archeology and wildlife.
 Trevine
Perera - Trevine has joined Red Dot as a specialist
flights consultant. When not bringing an air of calm
and efficiency to the Red Dot office, this former pupil
of St Peter's College remains committed to his studies.
As well as studying part time at the International Ticketing
Academy in Colombo, he is also following a web designing
course. He lives close to the office as well, so rest
assured that he will have to suffer all the emergency
shifts!
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