Essential Management Skills for Pharmacy and Business Managers

Titus De Silva, PhD gained his pharmacy degree (with honors) from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. He has worked in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, and Kuwait in all sectors of pharmacy practice (hospital, community, academia, research, and industry) and also in the beverage industry. For over 30 years, he held senior management positions in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka. Before immigrating to New Zealand, he was the head of the National Drugs Quality Control Laboratory in Sri Lanka. During his time in Sri Lanka, he was a visiting lecturer and examiner at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo School of Pharmacy. While in Kuwait, he served as a specialist in drug analysis and quality control under its Ministry of Health. In Japan, he was attached to the National Institute of Hygienic Science in Tokyo, where he worked with experts in pharmaceutical science. Organizations he worked for include Southland Hospital Board (New Zealand), Hoechst Pharmaceuticals (New Zealand), Pernod-Ricard (New Zealand), Eli Lilly Research (UK), Ballinger's Pharmacy (New Zealand), Boots Chemists (UK), and Lloyds Pharmacy (UK).

In addition to his pharmacy qualifications, he has a BSc degree in chemistry, postgraduate diploma in computer science, and MBA and PhD in management science. He is a chartered chemist (CChem), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (MRPharmS), and a member of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand (MPS).

Pernod-Ricard (previously Montana Wines Limited) owned the largest multiple winery in New Zealand, with wineries in four regions. In his role as their corporate quality assurance manager, he was responsible for developing and implementing quality, food safety and occupational safety, and hygiene management systems to comply with international standards. His efforts were rewarded when Montana Wines Limited became the first winery in Australasia to have its quality management system certified to the ISO 9000 standard. In his role, he coached and trained staff for management positions.

Dr. De Silva's expertise has been sought after by professional organizations. He has presented numerous papers at international seminars and published a number of papers and articles on quality management, food safety, pharmacy practice, and topics of general interest in management journals and magazines. He was the co-author of the chapter "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point" in the book Handbook of Food Preservation, published by Marcel Dekker, New York (1st edition) (1999). In the second edition of Handbook of Food Preservation, he was the author of the revised "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)" chapter and the "Good Manufacturing Practices" chapter (published by CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, in July 2007). His book Handbook of Good Pharmacy Practice was published in 2011in Sri Lanka.

He has gained competency as a lead auditor and was a registered auditor in quality management and occupational safety and hygiene. Dr. De Silva was a member of the review board of the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) and a member of its technical advisory council. JAS-ANZ is the sole body responsible for accrediting certifying bodies in Australia and New Zealand. He has also been enlisted as a consultant to United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). In 2004, the New Zealand government awarded him the Queen's Service Medal for services to the New Zealand community.