Dr Udari Ekanayake is a Lecturer in Management at the School of Business and Law, Central Queensland University (Melbourne Campus). Dr. Ekanayake, was awarded PhD in 2023 from Monash Business School (Melbourne, Australia). She obtained her Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) in 2012 and Master of Business Administration (Management) in 2016 from University of Newcastle, Australia. 

Dr. Udari Ekanayake’s research interests are at the intersection of strategic leadership focusing on Chief Executive Officers’ (CEO) personality, CEO bio-physiological features, and CEO- Top Management Team (TMT) interaction. Her research appears in leading international outlet ranked by the Australian Business Deans Council as A* (top tier) journal The Leadership Quarterly. Dr Udari Ekanayake has co-authored a book chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Individual Differences in Organizational Contexts (APSA Rank: A+). 

Udari has teaching experience at postgraduate, undergraduate, and diploma courses at Monash University (Australia), Monash College (Australia), and University of Newcastle (Australia). Her teaching covers topics such as Strategic Management, Managing International Business, Introduction to Management, Managerial Communication, Organizational Change, Managing People and Organizations, Financial Accounting for Reporting Entities, Accounting for Corporate Entities, and Auditing. 

Dr Udari Ekanayake has received commendation for outstanding teaching performance in 2020, and recognized for outstanding teaching evaluations by the Dean Faculty of Business and Economics and Head Monash Business School in 2022.