Entrepreneur, educator and philanthropist Muraly Srinarayanathas believes in building meaningful connections

08 Feb 2023

Muraly Srinarayanathas 的职业是弥合分歧和统一工作人员。成功的连续创业者说，输赢并不重要。 “对我来说，最终目标是我们作为一个团队走到一起，”他说，“一起创造美好的事物。” Muraly Srinarayanathas has made a career out of bridging differences and unifying work crews. The wins or the losses don’t matter, says the successful serial entrepreneur. “For me, the ultimate goal is that we come together as a team,” he says, “and create beautiful things together.”

暴风雪过后，五年级新人 Muraly Srinarayanathas 在校园里独自漫步时感到惊奇不已。那是 1987 年，他在温尼伯；他一生中从未见过如此大的雪。他还没有在这里交到任何朋友，但他的想象力用一个幻象安慰了他——一座冰雪堡垒，水晶塔在寒冷的阳光下闪烁。当一个年轻女孩走近他时，他开始滚雪球。 Grade 5 newcomer Muraly Srinarayanathas is wonderstruck as he wanders alone through the schoolyard after a blizzard. It’s 1987 and he’s in Winnipeg; he’s never seen so much snow in his life. He hasn’t made any friends here yet, but his imagination consoles him with a vision — a snow fort, crystalline towers twinkling in the cold sun. He begins to roll a snowball, when a younger girl approaches him.

“你在干什么？”她问。 “What are you doing?” she asks.

“建造一座堡垒，”他回答。 “你为什么不帮我？” “Building a fort,” he answers. “Why don’t you help me?”

不久，20个来自不同年级、不同背景的孩子们在Srinarayanathas的带领下开始搭建冰城堡。后来，当大一点的孩子拆毁他们的作品时，他们中的一个感到心烦意乱。 “别担心，我们会重新建造它，”它的建筑师说。 Before long, 20 children from different grades and backgrounds are erecting the ice castle, with Srinarayanathas leading the operation. Later, one of them is distraught when older kids demolish their creation. “Don’t worry, we’re going to build it again,” says its architect.

这个故事抓住了他的本质，Srinarayanathas 说，他的职业生涯在于弥合分歧和团结工作人员。成功的连续创业者说，输赢并不重要。 “对我来说，最终目标是我们作为一个团队走到一起，”他说，“一起创造美好的事物。” This story captures the essence of who he is, says Srinarayanathas, who has made a career out of bridging differences and unifying work crews. The wins or the losses don’t matter, says the successful serial entrepreneur. “For me, the ultimate goal is that we come together as a team,” he says, “and create beautiful things together.”

到七岁时，Srinarayanathas 在适应多种文化方面有了一生的经验。 Srinarayanathas 出生在英国，父母对他的到来还没有做好充分的准备，他在 1 岁时被送到斯里兰卡与祖父母住在一起，然后在 6 岁时被送到加拿大的姑姑和叔叔那里，之后，他的父母带着他他们去了印度，他父亲在那里经营一家电影公司。七岁时，全家搬到温尼伯与那里的亲戚团聚。 By age seven, Srinarayanathas had a lifetime’s experience in adapting to multiple cultures. Born in the U.K. to parents not quite ready for his arrival, Srinarayanathas was sent at age one to live with his grandparents in Sri Lanka, and then at age six to his aunt and uncle in Canada, and, afterwards, his parents took him with them to India where his father ran a film business. At age seven, the family moved to Winnipeg to reunite with their relatives there.

Srinarayanathas 从所有这些旅程中了解到慈善事业。他的父亲是一名商人，他教会了他原则和利润的价值。他的祖父在他的斯里兰卡家庭手工业中杜绝了腐败。他的姨妈是 CancerCare Manitoba 的首席执行官，她公开了她的电话号码，以便患者可以联系到她。 “服务是……我家的核心价值，”他说。 Srinarayanathas learned about philanthropy from all these journeys. His father, a businessman, taught him the value of principles as well as profits. His grandfather stamped out corruption in his Sri Lankan cottage industries. His aunt, the CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, publicized her phone number so patients could reach her. “Service is a core value of …my family,” he says.

但是这个相对世俗的小男孩在他位于温尼伯的新家中挣扎着归属感。甚至连他的衣服都不一样。当管袜风靡一时时，Srinarayanathas 的母亲给他穿上了更正式的礼服袜。 “像那样愚蠢的事情不会让我适应，”他说。种族歧视——比如“n-word”，没有帮助。 “很痛，”Srinarayanathas 说，“我不会说谎。”但是，具有讽刺意味的是，他与任何一个团体都没有隶属关系，这让学生可以从一个团体跳到另一个团体，在运动员、哥特人和国际象棋选手之间找到共同点。 But the relatively worldly young boy struggled to belong in his new home in Winnipeg. Even his clothing was different. When tube socks were all the rage, Srinarayanathas’ mother dressed him in more formal dress socks. “Silly things like that wouldn’t allow me to fit in,” he says. Racial slurs – like the “n-word,” didn’t help. “It hurt,” says Srinarayanathas, “I’m not gonna lie.” But, ironically, his lack of affiliation with any one group allowed the student to hop from one to another, finding commonalities amongst the athletes, the goths and the chess players.

但就在他在新家找到立足点时，他在孟加拉国工作的父亲心脏病发作，Srinarayanathas 在大学毕业后搬到那里帮助他经营一系列业务。起初，他感到漂泊。他没有朋友，甚至没有人会说英语。 “这是非常孤独的，”他说。 “我每天晚上都哭。” But just as he was finding his footing in his new home, his father, who was working in Bangladesh, suffered a heart attack and Srinarayanathas moved there after his university graduation to help him run a string of businesses. Initially he felt adrift. He had no friends, no one with whom he could even speak English. “It was extremely lonely,” he says. “I cried every night.”

但他最终明白，他的孤独源于他对当地人的排斥。由于害怕失去对自己身份的掌控，Srinarayanathas 将自己与新环境隔离开来。有了这种认识，他下定决心要接受他在整个南亚逗留期间遇到的陌生文化和公民。 “这改变了我的游戏。” But it eventually dawned on him that his solitude sprang out of his own rejection of the locals. Fearful of losing his grip on his identity, Srinarayanathas had closed himself off from his new environment. With that realization, he became determined to embrace the unfamiliar cultures and citizens he encountered throughout his South Asian sojourns. “That changed the game for me.”

这种包容的新态度也转化为经济收益。点击潜在客户是赢得销售的关键。 “归根结底，这总是关乎人际关系，”他说。 This new attitude of inclusiveness also translated into financial gain. Clicking with potential clients was key to winning sales. “It is always about relationships at the end of the day,” he says.

这种心理取向在他33岁回到加拿大后丰富了他的生活。Computek是一所面向成熟移民的大学，是他获得的第一家企业。这所学校侧重于商业、医疗保健和技术，提供全面的学习方法，向国际学生收取与国内学生相同的合理费用。 This psychological orientation would enrich his life after he returned to Canada at age 33. Computek, a college for mature immigrants, was the first business he acquired. The school, which focusses on business, health care and technology, offers a holistic approach to learning, charging international students the same reasonable rates as domestic students.

它还帮助他们就业，提供交流机会和人工智能化身引导的面试教程。 “你需要建立多个接触点和信心，”Srinarayanathas 说，“以提醒他们他们有多么强大。” It also helps them with employment, offering networking opportunities and tutorials in interviewing led by artificial intelligence avatars. “There’s multiple touch points and confidence you need to build,” says Srinarayanathas, “to remind them how powerful they are.”

随着 Computek 的蓬勃发展，Srinarayanathas 投资了一系列促进多元化和包容性的其他企业，将它们归入 369 Global Inc. 旗下。该企业集团包括涉及教育和培训、金融服务、创意产业、慈善事业等领域的实体。其中一家名为 Station 369 的电影公司去年制作了一部故事片《这个地方》，讲述的是两位二代移民女性之间的浪漫故事。对于其中一名执行制片人和演员之一的 Srinarayanathas 来说，该项目体现了 369 Global Inc. 致力于庆祝那些生活在常态之外的人。他说，这次经历“非常情绪化”。 As Computek thrived, Srinarayanathas invested in a slew of other businesses promoting diversity and inclusiveness, grouping them under the umbrella of 369 Global Inc. The business conglomerate includes entities involved in education and training, financial services, creative industries, philanthropy and more. One of these, a film company called Station 369, produced a feature film last year, This Place, about a romance between two second-generation immigrant women. For Srinarayanathas, one of the executive producers, and one of its cast, the project epitomized 369 Global Inc.’s commitment to celebrating those who dwell outside the norm. The experience was “very emotional,” he says.

！ !

Muraly Srinarayanathas 和他的家人。 Muraly Srinarayanathas with his family.

但他最有意义的倡议是 Srinarayanathas 基金会。该慈善机构支持专注于改善国内外弱势社区成果的组织，投资于医疗保健、教育、公民参与和创意艺术。 “这是我的热情，”Srinarayanathas 说，他于 2022 年 1 月推出了它。 But his most meaningful initiative is the Srinarayanathas Foundation. The charity supports organizations focused on improving outcomes for underrepresented communities at home and abroad, investing in health care, education, civic engagement and the creative arts. “This is my passion,” says Srinarayanathas, who launched it in January 2022.

他最令人满意的贡献之一是建立了泰米尔社区中心，这是大多伦多地区 (GTA) 的第一个社区中心。医院也是重要的受益者。去年，Srinarayanathas 举办了多伦多海滨马拉松赛，为四家社区医院筹集资金和提高知名度，其中包括 Markham Stouffville 医院，他的妻子 Darya Yermak 在该医院担任内科医生。他的家人在场边为他加油，他的两个孩子举着牌子，上面写着“阿帕[父亲]，你是我的英雄。” One of his most satisfying contributions has been establishing the Tamil Community Centre, the first in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Hospitals have also been significant beneficiaries. Last year, Srinarayanathas ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon to raise money and awareness for four community hospitals, including Markham Stouffville Hospital, where his wife, Darya Yermak, works as an internist. His family cheered him on from the sidelines, his two children carrying a sign saying “Appa [father], you’re my hero.”

有了 Srinarayanathas 基金会，他的生活又回到了原点。当他还是那个建造雪堡的小男孩时，他还记得他的家人面临的经济困难，每天晚上吃同样的米饭和扁豆作为晚餐。 Srinarayanathas 幸运地获得了一份助学金，可以就读温尼伯著名的圣保罗高中。最近，他也捐助了同一个助学金，帮助另一名年轻学生。 With the Srinarayanathas Foundation, his life has come full circle. Back when he was that little boy building a snow fort, he remembers the financial struggles faced by his family, eating the same meals of rice and lentils for dinner every night. Srinarayanathas was lucky to land a bursary to attend St. Paul’s, a prestigious Winnipeg high school. Recently, he contributed to the same bursary, helping another young student.

这种服役职责是他留给孩子们的最重要的遗产。他说，贡献不是建造结构或雕像。这就是你如何触及某人的生活。 “没有人会为此为你欢呼，”Srinarayanathas 说，但“你已经[迈出]一小步来创造一个更美好的世界。” This duty to serve is his most important legacy for his children. Contributing isn’t about building a structure or a statue, he says. It’s how you touch someone’s life. “No one’s going to cheer you on for that,” says Srinarayanathas, but “you have [taken] one small step into creating a better world.”

FCGvisa translated, © canadianimmigrant All Rights Reserved.