Praveeni Perera’s journey into international trade began when she was managing international development projects while working for a non-profit.  This ignited her interest in intercultural relations leading her to pursue an MBA in International Business. Upon completion of her post graduate degree, Praveeni  started  her own consulting company specializing in international expansions. 

I really enjoy meeting business people from around the world and learning about doing business in different cultures.

Praveeni’s creative and entrepreneurial spirit have led her to experience a wide variety of career highlights and accomplishments. 

Meeting business leaders and Bollywood stars

Early in her career, Praveeni took on an internship in Colombo, Sri Lanka to be part of the team organizing a Global Business Forum for the International Film Academy Awards held in Sri Lanka that year. The highlight of this experience was not only getting to meet business leaders from around the world but also seeing some of her favourite Bollywood stars. 

A plethora of career highlights and accomplishments

It was a great honor and pleasure for Praveeni to represent Canada at the OECD last year. She was the Project Manager for Canada on an international study the OECD was organizing on social and emotional skills in children.  

 As part of her education, Praveeni decided to pursue a certification in international protocol and attended the Protocol School of Washington. This proved to be a unique and memorable experience as some of her classmates included a protocol head at the Pentagon and a crew member of Air Force One.  

“I even have some souvenirs from Air Force One, this was during the Obama administration, so they all have his signature.” 

Among Praveeni’s cherished experiences is teaching the International Business Management graduate certificate program at Algonquin College where she gets to meet and teach new international students every year.  

“I truly enjoy this experience and look forward to meeting new students each semester.” 

Writing the book on relationship building

Praveeni wishes she had known the importance of networking and building relationships when she first started out in international trade. She views it as essential to network and develop a rapport with others among your target market as that can facilitate your expansion plans.  

Relationships are so important in international trade as having a rapport with someone in your target market can make your expansion or exporting activities so much easier.

Praveeni is so passionate about this aspect of career building that she wrote and published a book on it,  “Cocktails & Conversations: a guide to networking.” 

Another valuable nugget of advice from Praveeni is to appreciate cultural differences. Being born in Sri Lanka and raised in Canada, she was fortunate to experience the best of both worlds. 

Broadening the horizons of her knowledge

The logical next step for Praveeni was to sign up for the industry recognized FITTskills training in international trade.  

I really enjoyed taking the FITT skills courses as they helped strengthen and broaden my understanding of international trade. I found the course content easy to navigate and the textbooks were convenient and easy to read.

“My favourite course was International Sales and Marketing.” 

As Praveeni thoroughly enjoys marketing, this course was a great refresher for her. She particularly loved learning about how companies have adapted their products or services to better suit a specific market. She found that she could apply many of the useful pointers in there to the  fashion and lifestyle blog that she runs as a hobby. 

Praveeni applied for and was awarded the CITP designation in June 2020, viewing it as the perfect addition to her qualifications.  

Having worked in international trade for many years and completed my MBA in international business I thought the CITP would be a great complement to my current skill set.

What adds to the sense of excitement and accomplishment on earning the CITP designation is the fact that Praveeni completed four of the six courses that make up the educational requirement of the designation during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

Along with being a great addition to her existing skill set, the CITP lends the perfect finishing touch to her education in international trade.  

I hope to continue my work and consulting in international business and I definitely feel the CITP designation helps with building trust and credibility with potential clients.

Praveeni also gives back to the global business community by teaching the International Business Program at Algonquin College.  

With her ambition and deep knowledge of international trade, we have no doubt that Praveeni’s expertise will help her shine as she goes on to accomplish everything that she has set her mind on.   

The post CITP Spotlight: Praveeni Perera – Professor, Algonquin College appeared first on Trade Ready.