KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd chief executive officer of telecommunications business and group executive director Dr Hans Wijayasuriya will step down from his position to lead Sri Lanka's digital economy agenda.
Axiata said he was invited by the Sri Lankan government to lead the agenda in the capacity of chief advisor to the President on Digital Economy and other related leadership roles.
He will step down from his role at Axiata Group with effect from Jan 15 next year.
During the interim period Dr Wijayasuriya's responsibilities to Axiata will continue, including the execution of a transition program while he makes himself available for government of Sri Lanka's digital transformation initiatives on an advisory and non-executive basis.
"It has been an honour and privilege to be part of Axiata's journey over the past decades. Led by our chairman 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," he said in a statement.
Wijayasuriya records a tenure of over 30 years with Axiata and its predecessor, Telekom Malaysia.
As a member of Axiata's board of directors as group executive director, Wijayasuriya heads the pan-region telecommunications operations of the group spanning the markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
He also served on the board of directors of the GSMA, the governing body of the global mobile industry.
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, its digital solutions arm based in capital Colombo.