Structure and Management

Mr. Vish Govindasamy was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 1 October 2024.

Mr. Govindasamy serves as an Executive, Non-Independent Director at Sunshine Holdings PLC and Watawala Plantations PLC. Within Sunshine Holdings PLC, he holds the position of Deputy Chairman and also serves as a Director for Sunshine Healthcare Lanka Ltd, Sunshine Consumer Lanka Ltd, Sunshine Tea (Pvt) Ltd, Sunshine Wilmar (Pvt) Ltd, Healthguard Pharmacy Ltd, and Watawala Dairy Limited. Additionally, he holds independent directorships at Softlogic Life Insurance PLC, TAL Lanka Hotels PLC, United Motors Lanka PLC, and the 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation.

Mr. Govindasamy's esteemed leadership extends beyond the corporate realm. He is an appointed member of the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Immediate Past Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and a former Chairman of the Employers Federation of Ceylon.

He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Hartford, USA. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Professional Managers in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Soumen Ray is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Bharti Airtel Limited and has experience in various sectors including FMCG, telecommunication, automotive manufacturing and media. In the past, he has been associated with Bajaj Auto Limited, Viacom 18 Media Private Limited and ITC Limited.

Mr Ray holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (honours) from University of Calcutta, Kolkata. He is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Munesh counts for over 28 years’ experience in local and International corporates spanning across many diverse industries including Digital Telco, eCommerce, Plantation, Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Software, Consultancy, Agriculture, Aqua-culture, Trading & Audit.

At present he serves as the Group Chief Commercial Officer & Acting Group Chief Financial Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC. His role involves functions of Group Supply Chain Management, Programme Management and Revenue responsibility for Tele- Infrastructure business.

Munesh is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK (FCMA) and a Fellow Member of CPA Australia and hold an MBA from the University of Southern Queensland Australia. Further, he attended an Executive General Management Education programme conducted by INSEAD. Previous positions Munesh has served includes; Vice President – Group Corporate Planning & Strategy of Dialog Axiata PLC, Group Chief Internal Auditor, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of wow.lk (eCommerce business of Dialog), Head of Finance - edotco Sri Lanka (Tower business of Dialog), Head of Strategic Planning - Upstream Goodhope Asia - Plantation Company (Operating in Indonesia & Malaysia), Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO) of ODEL PLC (Fashion Retailer), Finance Manager of OneSteel Group (currently known as Arrium) - a fully integrated, manufacturer and distributor of Steel in Australia, Head of Group Corporate Finance - Dialog Axiata PLC, Senior Accountant at John Keells Computer Services (Pvt) Ltd, Investment Analyst at CF Venture Fund, and commenced his career as an Audit Trainee at KPMG Sri Lanka.

Mr. Thomas Hundt was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata effective 17 February 2024. Thomas is the Group Chief Strategy & Technology Officer of Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”), a position he has held from October 2021.

Prior to this, from mid 2008 until October 2021, Thomas served as the Managing Director & CEO of Smart Axiata in Cambodia, the leading telecom operator. Thomas was the founding CEO of Smart, which he grew from greenfield, number eight position in the market to number one position, including through the acquisition of Star-Cell in 2011 and the merger with Hello Axiata in 2013. While continuing to serve as the CEO of Smart Axiata, Thomas also held the position of Executive Vice President for Technology of Axiata from January 2020.

Thomas further serves as Commissioner of PT Link Net Tbk, Indonesia, an Axiata company, the 2nd largest Internet Service Provider of Indonesia, as Director of EDOTCO Group Sdn Bhd, an Axiata company, a leading tower and telecom infrastructure company across South and South East Asia and as Director of Axiata Digital Labs (Private) Limited, Sri Lanka, an Axiata company, an innovative software platform and solutions provider who is providing telco-focused digital and IT services and solutions. Thomas served as Director of Celcom Axiata Berhad, one of the largest telecom operators in Malaysia, an Axiata company, from March 2020 till its merger with Digi in November 2022 and of Ncell Private Limited, the leading mobile operator in Nepal, then an Axiata company, from June 2016 till March 2020.

He gained his vast experience in the telecommunications industry during his tenure in key management positions with Siemens AG’s Communication Division and Nokia Siemens Networks during 1996 till 2008, including an overseas stint in Shanghai, China.Thomas is the Vice President of German Business in Cambodia (GBC) since January 2010 and founding Board Member of the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham) Cambodia since January 2011, of which he serves as Vice President at present. Thomas holds an Apprenticeship Cooperative Studies Program in Business Administration by German Chamber of Industry & Commerce and Siemens AG, Germany (“Stammhauslehre”) and holds a degree from IHK for Industrial Business Administration.

Mr. David Lau was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dialog Axiata with effect from 1 July 2020 and as a member of the Board with effect from 13 May 2020.

Mr. Lau has over 35 years professional experience in finance and leading financial organisations in various locations in Australia, Brunei, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Netherlands and UK. Mr. Lau retired from Shell Malaysia in August 2011 after serving the Shell Group for about 30 years. His major assignments include the Finance Director for Shell Malaysia, Finance Director for Shell China, Global Controller for the Exploration & Production Division of Royal Dutch Shell, and Vice-President Finance for Shell International Exploration and Production B.V., in the Netherlands. Mr. Lau was an independent Non-Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad from April 2008 to July 2020, the last 2 years as the Senior Independent Non- Executive Director. From June 2009 to October 2020, he was an Investment Panel member of the Malaysia Employees Provident Fund. He is also a board member of Heineken Malaysia Berhad and KKB Engineering Berhad. Mr. Lau was also appointed as an Independent and Non-executive Chairman of Boost Bank Berhad, effective 15th January 2024.

Mr. Lau graduated from the Canterbury University, New Zealand with a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

Mr. Supun Weerasinghe is the Executive Director and Group Chief Executive at Dialog Axiata PLC, a position he holds since 2017.

His career in telecommunications began with Dialog in 1999, where he progressed through various key roles, including Head of Strategy, CEO of the Mobile Business, and Group Chief Operating Officer.

In 2013, Mr. Weerasinghe functioned as the Group Chief Strategy Officer at Axiata Group Berhad in Malaysia. He then led Robi Axiata Limited in Bangladesh as the CEO and Managing Director from 2014 to 2016. Mr. Weerasinghe serves on the Board of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and UNGC Network, Sri Lanka.

He is a Fellow Certified Management Accountant, Sri Lanka, Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Financial Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Mr. Weerasinghe holds an MBA from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 19 January 2001. Dr. Wijayasuriya joined Dialog Axiata’s founding management team in 1994, and subsequently functioned as the Group Chief Executive of the Company from 01 September 1997 to 31 December 2016.

Dr. Wijayasuriya currently holds the position of Group Executive Director and CEO of Telecommunications Business of the Axiata Group. Dr. Wijayasuriya serves on the Boards of several Axiata Group Companies across Asia.

In March 2024, Dr Wijayasuriya was honored with the “Chairman’s Award” by the GSM Association, the governing body of the Global Mobile Industry in recognition of outstanding contribution to the global mobile industry. Previously in 2017, Dr Wijayasuriya was the recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution to the Asian Mobile Industry” Award in its inaugural year of award. Dr. Wijayasuriya is a member of the Board of Directors of the GSMA and is a past Chairman of GSM Asia Pacific – the regional interest group of the GSM Association.

Dr. Wijayasuriya is a Past Chair of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on the Board of John Keells Holdings PLC as an Independent, Non- Executive Director and on the Board of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited as a Non-Executive Director. In 2008, Dr. Wijayasuriya was named the ‘Sri Lankan of the Year’ by Sri Lanka’s premier business journal the LMD. Dr. Wijayasuriya holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, an MBA from the University of Warwick UK and a PhD in Digital Mobile Communications from the University of Bristol, UK. Dr. Wijayasuriya is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering Technology of the UK (IET), and a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Mr. Mohamed V. Muhsin was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 14 June 2006.

He is a former Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the World Bank, where he was responsible for aligning information technology with the organisation’s business strategy. Mr. Muhsin successfully led the implementation of major reforms in enterprise-wide business & information systems, global telecommunications and video conferencing. The work he accomplished is featured in the Harvard Business School Case Study, Enabling Business Strategy with IT at the World Bank.

Mr. Muhsin has also worked in senior positions in the private sector in Sri Lanka. He served for several years as the Group Financial Director of Zambia’s Industrial and Mining conglomerate (ZIMCO) and as an advisor on state enterprise reform in the office of the then President of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.

Mr. Muhsin’s experience includes working as a Strategic Management Consultant and Director on international corporate and Foundation Boards. He is also the Chairman of the Islamic Community Center of Potomac in Maryland, USA. He is a freelance columnist and journalist.

Mr. Muhsin is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Mahesh Amalean was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 15 May 2014. Mr. Amalean is the Chairman and Co-Founder of MAS Holdings (Private) Limited (“MAS”), the largest apparel tech company in South Asia and among the most recognised design-to-delivery solution providers in apparel and textile manufacturing. With a global community of over 100,000, today, MAS spans across 15 countries, with established design locations placed in key style centres across the world.

Mr. Amalean was conferred the title ‘Desamanya’ [Pride of the Nation - an honour awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka for “highly meritorious service”] in 2005 by the President of Sri Lanka in recognition of his service to the Nation. In 2011, The Open University of Sri Lanka conferred an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) to Mr. Amalean in recognition of his contribution to the Country. In 2013, Mr. Amalean was one of five global business leaders recognized with a UN Award at the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) inaugural Leadership Awards presentation where he received the award for Cultural Change for Empowerment. He was ranked amongst the Top 20 Progressive Asian Leaders by the World Business Magazine.

Mr. Amalean was honoured with the ‘Humanitarian Award’ at 2019 Femmy Awards organised by the Underfashion Club in New York, for his contribution in empowering people and uplifting the communities. He is a visionary leader and is engaged in nurturing teams, uplifting communities and committed towards creating a sustainable future for the next generation. He strongly believes in attracting and investing in talent for future growth and has mentored several young leaders. Mr. Amalean completed his executive education in Strategic Leadership from Columbia University in New York (USA); and holds a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras (India).

Mr. Willem Lucas Timmermans was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 10 May 2017. Mr. Timmermans served as a Director of PT XL Axiata Tbk, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad, from 2006 until March 2018.

Mr. Timmermans commenced his career in Finance at TVM Insurance Company Netherlands and held strategic positions in KPN Netherlands from 1988 until 1997. Mr. Timmermans furthered his career and served as the Finance Director of PT Bakrie Elektronik (Indonesia) and was appointed Vice President, Business Control and Investor Relations of PT Telkomsel (Indonesia) prior to his appointment as Director and Chief Financial Officer of PT XL Axiata Tbk (Indonesia) in 2006. In 2011, he served as a Director and Chief Operating Officer and in 2015 as Director and Chief Strategic & Transformation Officer of PT XL Axiata Tbk. He also served as a Non-Executive Director of Celcom Axiata Berhad (Malaysia) from 2011 to 2017. Mr. Timmermans currently serves on the Board Audit Committee of PT Linknet Tbk (Indonesia) and PT Delta Dunia Makmur Tbk (Indonesia).

Mr. Timmermans holds degrees in Business Administration from the Business Administration and Economics School from the State University Groningen, Netherlands and Business Economics and Financing from the State University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Mr. Vivek Sood was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 16 February 2019.

In addition to the Board of Dialog Axiata, Vivek holds Board positions in PT XL Axiata in Indonesia, Robi in Bangladesh and Axiata Digital Businesses. Mr. Sood is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Axiata Group Berhad, a position he has held since 2017.

Prior to joining Axiata, Mr. Sood held various leadership roles in the telecommunications and financial industry, as Executive Vice President and Group Chief Marketing Officer of Telenor Group Inc., Chief Executive Officer of Telenor India, Chief Executive Officer of Grameenphone Bangladesh, Chief Financial Officer of Telenor India, and Chief Financial Officer and as Chief Operating Officer of Tata AIA Life Insurance.

Mr. Sood holds a Bachelor in Commerce from the University of Delhi and is a Qualified Chartered Accountant from India.

Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 1 February 2021. Dr. Coomaraswamy has over 40 years of experience in policy making and providing economic advisory services on both macroeconomic and structural issues at national and intergovernmental levels. Dr. Coomaraswamy served as the 14th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka from July 2016 to December 2019.

He started his career in the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 1974 and worked in the Economic Research, Statistics and Bank Supervision Departments of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka until 1989. From 1990 to 2008, he held several senior positions at the Commonwealth Secretariat, including Director, Economic Affairs Division. Dr. Coomaraswamy currently serves on the Board of Tokyo Cement Company (Lanka) PLC as an Independent, Non-Executive Director and is also currently the Chairman of Lynear Wealth Management.

Dr. Coomaraswamy received awards as the “Sri Lankan of the Year 2016” (LMD) and “Central Bank Governor of the Year for South Asia” for the year 2017 (Euromoney Institutional Investor Group Plc). He also received the Sri Lankan national honour of “Deshamanya” in August 2019.

Dr. Coomaraswamy holds a B.A. (Hons) degree from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and a DPhil degree from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. In addition, he has represented and led the Sri Lanka National Rugby team and has also played First Class Cricket in Sri Lanka.

Dr. Sharmini Coorey was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 15 October 2022.

Dr. Coorey is a former senior official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and currently a member of the Presidential Advisory Group on Multilateral Engagement and Debt Sustainability advising the Government of Sri Lanka during the economic crisis. She joined the IMF through the Economist Program in 1986 and, during her 35-year career there, worked in positions of increasing seniority in its African, Asia and Pacific, European, and Western Hemisphere departments, as well as its Strategy, Policy and Review Department.

Prior to her retirement in November 2021, Dr. Coorey served for almost nine years as the Director of the Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), the IMF’s department for capacity building. As Director - the most senior staff position at the IMF - she was instrumental in establishing ICD and providing strategic direction for the governance, management, and funding of the IMF’s capacity building activities. She also oversaw the IMF’s training for country officials world-wide and established its online programme which trained over 100,000 government officials in policy-oriented macroeconomics during her tenure. Before heading ICD, Dr. Coorey was Deputy Director in the IMF’s African Department, where she oversaw the IMF’s work on many Sub-Saharan African countries including South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. In addition, she led the department’s financial sector work and research agenda.

Dr. Coorey’s experience at the IMF also includes surveillance work on the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Canada as well as program work on Korea, Estonia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. She served on the Investment Committee of the IMF Staff Retirement Plan and on the Editorial Committee of IMF Staff Papers. She was also a visiting researcher at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington DC. Dr. Coorey holds Ph.D. and bachelor’s degrees in Economics from Harvard University. She has published papers on inflation and economic growth in transition and developing countries and edited a book on managing oil wealth in Central African countries.

Mr. Supun Weerasinghe is the Executive Director and Group Chief Executive at Dialog Axiata PLC, a position he holds since 2017. His career in telecommunications began with Dialog in 1999, where he progressed through various key roles, including Head of Strategy, CEO of the Mobile Business, and Group Chief Operating Officer.

In 2013, Mr. Weerasinghe functioned as the Group Chief Strategy Officer at Axiata Group Berhad in Malaysia. He then led Robi Axiata Limited in Bangladesh as the CEO and Managing Director from 2014 to 2016. Mr. Weerasinghe serves on the Board of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and UNGC Network, SriLanka.

He is a Fellow Certified Management Accountant, Sri Lanka, Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Financial Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Mr. Weerasinghe holds an MBA from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School.

Ranga leads the Technology function of the Dialog Group. His portfolio spans strategizing, planning, development and operation of multiple networks and services, including but not limited to the Group’s Mobile, Broadband, Fixed Line, Digital Television and International Telecommunications infrastructures, as well as leading the Information Security function for Network & IT.

Ranga joined Dialog Axiata in 2001 and was seconded to Axiata Group Berhad in Malaysia in 2013. Before joining back at Dialog Axiata as the Group Chief Technology Officer, Ranga was the Group Head of Network Strategy & Planning at Axiata, managing the Technology Strategy and Planning for its six operating companies. He holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) degree in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and a Master of Science in Wireless Networks (Merit) from Queen Mary, University of London, United Kingdom Ranga has over ten years of extensive international experience in Technology Planning and Management, both at operating company level as well as at Corporate Head Quarters, managing the operation of multiple operating companies, where he developed a proven track record of leading and managing multi- cultural teams of knowledge workers. Over the course of his 22-year career in technology management Ranga has garnered extensive experience across multiple generations of mobile telephony and other telecommunications technologies.

Sandra De Zoysa, the Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata, brings over 35 years of unparalleled expertise to her role. As a pioneering female professional in Mobile Telecommunications Industry, Sandra’s leadership extends beyond Dialog Axiata. She chairs the Digital Customer Experience Expert Working Group for Axiata and holds the position of Director at Dialog Business Services. Her commitment to advancing the field is evident in her involvement with various professional bodies, including the Asia Leadership Council of CXPA USA, the Advisory Board of CX Asia, and the Business Agility Fellowship Sri Lanka’s Advisory Committee. Sandra’s foundational contributions to the industry are highlighted by her roles as a founding member and the inaugural Chairperson of SLASSCOM, the National IT/BPM Chamber in Sri Lanka. She also played a pivotal role in establishing the Women’s Chamber for Digital Sri Lanka and has served as a past Vice President of the Sri Lanka Institute of Service Management. Her expertise is further recognised as a fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and a member of the Customer Advisory Board of CX Network, UK.

Sandra’s passion for empowerment extends to her philanthropic efforts. In 2020, she founded SLASSCOM WTech to support women, children, and encourage women tech-entrepreneurs. Sandra generously contributes her time to mentoring underserved women and college students through various initiatives such as the Global Mentorship Initiative, Hatch Works, SLASSCOM & Women in Management, apart from Dialog. In acknowledgment of her commitment to nurturing female talent, Sandra has been invited to participate in the inaugural group of 10 global inspirational leaders, an initiative by the EQUALS Champions Leadership Coaching Programme organised by the United Nations International Telecommunications Corporation. Her academic credentials include a Master’s in Digital Transformation Leadership from London Metropolitan University and an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the University of West London. Sandra is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner, Scrum Master, and the only Certified Customer Experience Professional and Recognised Training Provider in Sri Lanka for the Customer Experience Professionals Association. As a prolific keynote speaker, Sandra has graced over 400 global events with her insights and was a visiting lecturer at the University of Colombo School of Computing since 2009. Sandra’s remarkable journey and achievements have earned her multiple global and local recognitions, underscoring her exceptional contributions to the spheres of telecommunications, women in management, and digital customer experience

Renuka Fernando currently holds the position of Group Chief Digital Services Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, playing a significant role in steering the company’s digital services initiatives. In addition, she was appointed as the Chairperson and a Member of the Board of Dialog Finance PLC, contributing her expertise to drive significant advancements in the financial sector.

Renuka is a highly experienced, successful and well-regarded business leader who has very significant business experience spanning 40 years in the banking sector and vast expertise in growing and developing banking with a special focus on Digital Banking. Prior to joining Dialog in April 2020, she headed Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB) as the Director/Chief Executive Officer from 2012 and has played a pivotal role in bringing the organisation to where it is today.During her stint with NTB she played many senior leadership roles including Deputy Chief ExecutiveOfficer, DGM – Retail & Consumer Banking and AGM- Corporate Financial Solutions. Prior to joining NTB, Renuka held the positions of Vice President / Head Global Transactional Services and Head of Consumer Banking at ABN AMRO Bank N.V, Sri Lanka. She has also worked at Banque Indosuez, Sri Lanka as Manager Corporate Banking and at Nederlandsche Middenstands Bank - Hong Kong.

In addition to playing key leadership roles in the corporate sector, Renuka has also functioned as the Vice President – American Chamber of Commerce and has previously served as Director of Lanka Clear (Pvt) Ltd and Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Bankers Association.

Renuka is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, UK. She is also an Alumni of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Upali currently holds the position of Group Chief Officer – Programme Management and Teleinfrastructure. His portfolio includes Enterprise Programme Management, Supply Chain Operations, and Tele-Infrastructure Management including related commercial operation.

Upali joined Dialog in 1994 and his experience largely covers management of Telecommunication and IT networks and systems. Prior to being appointed to the current role, he served the Group in the capacities of Chief Operating Officer - Dialog Broadband Networks and General Manager – Engineering Operations and Information Technology.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, and a Master of Business Administration from University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Upali is a Member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) UK, a Corporate Member of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), and a Senior Member of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Australia. He is a Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering Council (UK).

Li San assumed duties as the Group Chief Operating Officer on 1st April 2024.

Li San has been with the Axiata Group of Companies since 2015. Before joining Dialog, Li San was the Group Head of Business Operations of Axiata Group Berhad, where she was responsible for portfolio performance management and board governance of all its operating companies. Within this role, she represented Axiata as part of the integration planning team for the Celcom-Digi merger in Malaysia and was Axiata’s appointed Board Observer / Investment Manager for CelcomDigi Berhad. In addition, she led the initial post-acquisition integration of PT LinkNet Tbk, a fixed broadband player in Indonesia. She was also a Non-Executive Director and Board Audit Committee Member at Smart Axiata Co. Ltd., the leading mobile service provider in Cambodia.

Prior to this stint, Li San headed the Group CEO’s Office where she supported the President & Group CEO in strategy development, target setting for senior leaders, stakeholder engagement and strategic project management. Preceding that, she spent three years in Group Strategy where she led Group Research and spearheaded the annual long-term strategy exercise, competitive analyses, strategic projects and M&A evaluation.

Before joining Axiata, Li San spent the formative years of her career with British American Tobacco where she took on various roles within the Finance function.

Li San graduated top 0.5% from the university of South Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce and Applied Finance. She is a Certified Practicing Accountant through CPA Australia and has completed her executive education with Harvard, INSEAD and IMD as part of the Axiata talent development program. Li San was awarded the Axiata Champion (Group CEO) Award in 2019 as well as the Axiata Senior Leadership Award in 2016 and again in 2021.

Shayam currently holds the position of Group Chief People Officer and provides leadership to the People and Culture Function which encompasses Human Capital of the Dialog Group.

Shayam joined Dialog in 1997 and has previously served in the capacities of Group Chief Corporate and People Officer, Group Chief Corporate Officer, Group Chief Officer – Commercial and Programme Management, Group Chief Programme Officer, Group Senior Vice President - Access Network/Technology Resource Planning, and Head - Network Planning of the Company, prior to being appointed to his current role.

Shayam holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering specialising in Wireless Communications from the University of Texas – Arlington, USA and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems specialising in Telecommunications from the University of Houston - Clear Lake, Texas, USA. He is a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) - USA, a member of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) – UK, and a Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering Council (UK).

Asela assumed duties as the Group Chief Information Officer on the 1st of January 2022.

Asela leads the Information Technology (IT) function of the Dialog Group. In addition, he leads the Cloud Track under the Collective Brain Initiative of the Axiata Group. His portfolio spans the planning, development and operations of IT Systems & Infrastructure for Telecommunications, Fintec and Digital Services businesses driving convergence. He played a pivotal role in the success of the Digital Transformation drive at Dialog which resulted in modernizing and migrating mission critical applications and its entire Analytics ecosystem to Cloud.

Asela holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and Engineering Degree from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and an MBA from the University of Edith Cowan, Australia. He was awarded Leader of the Year at the Dialog Awards in 2019.

Navin is an ICT and telecommunications professional and a business leader with 24 years of experience, spanning multiple ICT management and leadership roles.

He started his career at Dialog Axiata in 2005 after a career in Systems Integration with the Leading SI’s of the time and has held multiple leadership roles in International carrier Business, Mobile Telecommunications, Mobile Broadband, and Fixed Telecommunications. At present he functions as the Group Chief Officer - Dialog Enterprise at Dialog Axiata PLC.

In his role as the Head of Fixed Telecommunications, he was part of the leadership team that launched Sri Lanka’s and the region’s first fixed 4G services and Sri Lanka’s first uptime Tier III certified data center. Navin holds a dual masters in the fields of General Management & Management Information Systems from Boston University School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) (Summa Cum Laude) in the fields of Business Administration, and Economics from Eastern Connecticut State University, USA.

Anthony has been with Axiata Group of Companies since 2010 as the Group Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Services Officer of Dialog Axiata. He was appointed Chief Information Officer of Axiata Group in August 2017 and continues as Chief Innovation Officer & Chief Architect of Dialog Axiata.

Prior to joining the Dialog Group, Anthony was the Head of the North America Systems Integration Business for Nokia Siemens Networks. He was responsible for Solution Development, Systems Integration and Business Management of converged Fixed and Wireless solutions for communication service providers in North America. Anthony counts over three decades of experience in Europe, Asia and the Americas in Open Digital Architecture, Operations Support Systems/Business Support Solutions and Systems Integration, holding leadership positions at British Telecom, AT&T, Nokia, NSN and Hayleys.

Anthony holds a B.Eng from Kings College London, and an MBA from Regis University Denver, CO. USA. He holds several European and United States Patents in the area of Charging and Speech Recognition technology.

Lasantha assumed duties as the Group Chief Marketing Officer on 1st February 2024. He has over twenty-five years of experience in multiple functions including Finance, Operations, Business Control, Strategy, Transformation and Business Management spanning a diverse range of industries which include Telecommunications, Leisure, Distribution, Shipping, Printing, Software, Consultancy and Audit.

Lasantha started his career at Dialog in 2004 as Manager - Finance Operations and has held multiple roles including Vice President Corporate Planning before being seconded to Axiata Group Berhad in February 2017 as the Head of Strategy. Following his Axiata assignment, Lasantha was appointed as the Group Chief Digital Officer in November 2018, successfully spearheading Dialog’s Digital Transformation. He played a pivotal role in fostering agility and initiating the ‘Analytics at the Edge’ programme. In September 2020, Lasantha assumed the role of Group Chief Operating Officer, where he played a vital role in strengthening the leadership position across all Core Business Units during challenging times. He spearheaded a much-needed adaptive overhaul of Dialog’s Core Business Units, to fortify its resilience for the future. Additionally, Lasantha led large-scale projects, including the successful 3G Network Shutdown, while concurrently guiding the Corporate Planning & Strategy team towards achieving strategic excellence.

Lasantha is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. He holds a Bachelor of Science Special Degree in Accountancy from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka and a MBA from the University of Edith Cowan, Australia. Lasantha was awarded as the Leader of the Year at the inaugural Dialog Awards in 2011 and once again in 2013.

Yap has over 40 years of experience most of his professional career in the telecommunication and IT industry. His experience is in various Finance disciplines, with close to 30 years in senior management positions, board directorship, corporate governance, and listed company reporting in Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

He holds several memberships from reputed institutes in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. He is a Fellow member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, United Kingdom, a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a Graduate of the Institute of Chartered Secretary and Administrators, United Kingdom, and holds a Chartered Accountant membership in the Malaysian Institute of Accountants. Yap in his capacity as the Acting Group Chief Financial Officer will provide leadership to the portfolios of Group Finance, Group Business Control, Supply Chain Management, and Group Facilities Management.

He provides leadership to the portfolios consisting of Group Finance, Group Business Control, Group Facilities Management, Group Corporate Finance and Group Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Ranawana brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, having worked in multiple industries. Dr. Ranawana was a Co-founder, CTO and Managing Director of SimCentric Technologies (Pvt) Ltd and thereafter founded and functioned as the CTO of Tengri UAV. After exits from these companies, he founded Enterprise Machine Learning (Pvt) Ltd, a consultancy firm advising several multi-national organisations on their AI transformation.

Over the last year in his role as a consultant, Dr. Ranawana assisted Dialog and Axiata in the scaling of Analytics and AI across the Group and played a pivotal role in the AI Factory programme.

In his capacity as the Group Chief Analytics and AI Officer, Dr. Ranawana provides leadership to all Analytics and AI initiatives across the Dialog Group. Dr. Ranawana holds a DPhil in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Oxford and a 1st Class Honors Degree in Computer Science from the University of Peradeniya. Additionally, Dr. Romesh is the Chairperson of the National Committee for Formulating a Strategy for Artificial Intelligence.

Ms. Komathi Balakrishnan was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata effective 7 July 2023. Ms. Balakrishnan is the Group Financial Controller, Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”), a position she has held from April 2019 to date.

Ms. Balakrishnan has 29 years of professional experience in accounting and finance in leading organisations. Prior to joining Axiata, Ms. Balakrishnan functioned as the Group Financial Controller at Sapura Energy Berhad and at Telekom Malaysia Berhad (“Telekom Malaysia”). Prior to that, Ms Balakrishnan has held senior finance leadership roles at Telekom Malaysia.

Ms. Balakrishnan holds a Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) First Class from the University of Malaya and Master of Finance (High Distinction) from the Malaysia Institute of Management - RMIT (Australia) Programme. In addition, Ms. Balakrishnan holds professional qualifications from the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (CPA).