Axiata Group Berhad announced that Telecommunications Business CEO and Group Executive Director Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya has been invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to lead the country’s digital economy agenda in the capacity of Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy and other related leadership roles.

Wijayasuriya has duly accepted the invitation and has communicated his decision to step down from his role at Axiata Group with effect from 15 January 2025.

The Board of Directors of Axiata has accepted his decision to relinquish his position from the effective date.

During the interim period, Wijayasuriya’s responsibilities to Axiata will continue, including the execution of a transition programme while he makes himself available for the government’s digital transformation initiatives on an advisory and non-executive basis.

Wijayasuriya has a tenure of over 30 years with Axiata and its predecessor, Telekom Malaysia. A member of Axiata’s Board of Directors in the capacity of Group Executive Director, Dr. Wijayasuriya heads the pan-region telecommunications operations of the Group spanning the markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said: “It has been an honour and privilege to be part of Axiata’s journey over the past decades. Led by our Chairperson and Board, Group CEO and operating company CEOs, the Axiata family has and will continue to forge new frontiers in the digital, telco and infrastructure space, centred on the Group’s thought leadership in Telco-TechCo transformation.”

“I am honoured by the invitation extended to me by the Government of Sri Lanka, and I stand privileged to have the opportunity to contribute to my country. As I embark on this new chapter, I am deeply aware that every learning I possess, I owe to leadership and colleagues, past and present, from across the Axiata Group. To them, I will always be grateful.”

The Axiata Group enjoys a long-standing relationship with Sri Lanka with its presence through Dialog Axiata, which since 1993 is the country’s leading converged connectivity provider. The Group has also invested in Sri Lanka’s software development sector through Axiata Digital Labs, the Group’s digital solutions arm based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.