His interest in the sport continued until his time at the University of Papua New Guinea in the late 1960s and after, when he was a founder member of the Malangan Softball Club in Port Moresby.

Helped by an outgoing personality, excellent social skills, and a well-developed sense of humour, he quickly rose through the ranks of the industry and in 1979 was granted a licence to operate his own company.

Despite pressure to do so he was not interested in a career in politics and, instead, chose to serve in unpaid positions on business chambers, industry councils and sporting federations.

Among those to offer condolences was the prime minister, Michael Somare, who described his death as "great loss to the business community and the sporting fraternity of Papua New Guinea".

Somare also spoke about Kila's "humble demeanour" and his role as a man who "tried to assure Papua New Guineans an equitable share in economic development".