Spearheading the fashion retail and lifestyle giant Odel, World Animal Day Ambassador, Goodwill Ambassador for Habitat for Humanity, Ambassador for Earth Hour Sri Lanka, mother of two boys and adopted mother to Niko, Bandit and Rozzy (her pooches who complete her family and call for her wholehearted attention and cuddles) – Otara’ charisma of innovation and inspiration is fascinating.
Fashion icon, entrepreneur, philanthropist, power woman, the list describing Otara Gunewardene is endless. To her, it is not the references used to describe her that matters most. It is the people, it is the animals, it is the environment that have all benefitted by her endeavours and mores so, the people who have been influenced to action. It is the stories she wants society to hear, the environmental issues she wants society to address, and for people to understand the importance in the power of numbers and the profound impact each and everyone has in being part of the solution.
So how does Otara do it? (Can we add in a bit about how Otara juggles motherhood etc? maybe move away from the usual that’s given in interviews and make it more deeper?)
Feng Shui – Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Otara Gunewardene – firm believers of its influences. Evident in every aspect of Otara’s life, both personal and professional from the ornaments delicately placed around her office to the charms on her hands – Otara’s belief in Feng Shui is evident, a practice that has affected her life abundantly.
‘My belief system has changed over the last few years. I feel like things used to be very materialistic for me, but now there is just so much more. In the last seven years or so something changed in me. I suddenly felt ready for something bigger. As soon as I was ready to listen, things just fell into place. One of the things I started was Feng Shui. The flow-on effects from having better energy and better flows are incredible. The retail industry is such a fast-paced business. I felt like I was nearing breaking point and had I not tuned into the universe when I did, I might have eventually burnt out. There were too many sleepless nights worrying, too much stress, and too many things going wrong in life. Feng Shui gave my life a renewed sense of purpose and sense of direction’
Otara has a certain aura about her. She’s serene yet has one of the most infectious laughs, shy yet commands attention when she enters a room, but most of all she is kind, compassionate and empathetic. She leads people to find space in their hearts to be empathetic to both humans and animals alike.
Otara strives to transform society’s attitudes towards animals be it the street dog or the majestic elephant. It is common to see a furry friend visit her regularly whilst she heads a meeting or in the midst of a hectic work day. The emotional connection between the animal and her is blatantly visible – they melt her heart. Her love for animals is so raw and so genuine. A fair share of Odel’s campaigns and her social media is dedicated to the welfare of animals, raising awareness and reinforcing a call to action . It always strive to tell a story, to serve a purpose.
‘I have always wanted to help animals. Along the way I got reeled into modelling and then fashion retail. From as young as I can remember I wanted to be a vet and help lions and tigers, but life had something else in store for me. But I believe things happen for a reason and over the years I have been able to have the platform to convey a positive message on the importance of preserving our wildlife and our environment and helping many animals and people along the way. It has never been a part of my business plan or agenda – to be honest up to about fifteen years ago I didn’t even know what Corporate Social Responsibility was and that a company , ‘-should do CSR to be perceived as accountable and responsible. I started Embark out of a desire to improve the image of unwanted animals and I wanted people to be part of it.
My dogs sleep in my room on their own sofa. They sleep in the same order every night, since Niko and Bandit sometimes don’t get along too well at times, Rozzy acts like a buffer and sleeps in the middle.
I feel it is important to live in a world where we respect and treat animals well. Every day so many animals find themselves the victims of abuse, neglect and cruelty. We can change all this. It is important to create a world we can co-exist in through kindness, love and compassion. It doesn’t take a thing to be kind towards animals or people. Animals came first on earth and they never do anything which causes harm to humans out of malice and yet we put them in cages, people stone unwanted dogs, or use monkeys as trick masters to earn money, they suffer so much.
With Sri Lanka developing the way it is I think that alongside this development we need to educate people on the value of kindness to all beings.
For Otara, it is about inspiring others to being the best they can possibly be – to be the change they want to see.