After completing his formal education with the then-equivalent of high school, Fernando moved to Colombo to train as a tea taster. He recognised the labour involved in traditional tea growing tea, combined with profits going into the wrong pockets, meant that the Ceylon tea industry and its two million dependents would not have a future unless things changed. Fernando founded Dilmah, his own sustainable tea brand. Now sold globally, 10 percent of the pre‐tax profit is used to fund the work of his MJF Charitable Foundation, which emphasises empowerment of the differently abled people.