Inspiring to win

For 18 years, Ranga Welaratne, Chairman of the Board of Sanofi Kazakhstan, General Director of Sanofi Central Asia, one of the leaders of the pharmaceutical market in the region, has worked in various fields of pharmaceuticals. The rich international experience of management in developing and developed countries of Europe gave him tremendous experience in management. In 2003, Ranga began working in Australia as a Systems and Operations Manager, in 2005 moved to China, where he served as Director of Business and Systems Support, later worked in France and Korea.

He always speaks with great pleasure about Sanofi:

- Sanofi is a leading player in the biotechnology industry. The company is represented in more than 100 countries and employing more than 100 000 individuals. We have been present in Kazakhstan since 1997, for more than 20 yeras.  

Sanofi supports projects for a healthy lifestyle, and employees and managers are actively engaged in sports. For several years the company has been acting as a partner at the sporting events of Almaty Marathon.

- We support the Almaty Marathon for the third consecutive year. The goals and values ​​of our company largely coincide and correspond to the tasks of the Corporate Fund "Courage to be the first." We, as a reliable partner in the field of healthcare, provide support to people facing health problems so that they can live a full life. Running, in general, the practice of leading a healthy lifestyle, is the best prevention of various diseases. Every year Sanofi's running team participates in the Marathon, and this year it consists of 80 people. It's nice to see that interest in running is growing very fast in the world, and there are more and more participants every year.

Almaty Marathon will take place on April 22. According to tradition Sanofi will act as a partner.

- About 10-15 years ago I was seriously engaged in sports. I really like runing. I have repeatedly participated in marathons in Korea, China, in European countries. I remember marathons especially in Berlin and London. It's great that I was lucky enough to take part in Almaty marathon too – Mr.Velaratne shares his thoughts.

For Sanofi, this is not only a social project supported by the company, but also an opportunity to make a personal contribution to the charity initiative, because all the funds raised go precisely for these purposes. Sharing the impressions of the previous races, Ranga says that he is impressed by the high level of preparation and holding of the marathon in Almaty and the involvement of all participants.

- I believe that participation in the marathon in many ways resembles the management of business. I am very encouraged by marathons in that they demonstrate the whole essence of those feelings that people can experience while fighting for the result. It is interesting to observe people who expand the boundaries of their capabilities, set themselves goals for the sake of achieving which they train for several months. As well as in business, it is necessary to set goals and draw up a clear plan for their achievement.

"I understand that running a marathon is not easy," Ranga says, "but if a person can endure all the ups and downs and will continue to strive for success, then he will definitely be rewarded. When you see the runners crossing the finish line after having overcome 42 km, you can see an expression of relief and exhaustion on their faces. They have achieved their goal and laid out completely for the sake of this marathon. Therefore, I always tell my colleagues that, as in business, when we achieve our goals, we feel a great satisfaction. In my understanding, there is nothing better than watching how others achieve something great, which they have been striving for for many years.