The national chamber for the IT/BPM industry, Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) appointed Sandra De Zoysa as Chairperson for 2021/22, at the 9th Annual General Meeting held on June 29.
She succeeds Channa Manoharan – CEO / Advisory Leader PwC Sri Lanka who stated “I have been very fortunate to lead SLASSCOM during one of its most exciting years, with many new developments taking shape and a range of new initiatives underway, supporting the vision 2025. Sandra’s appointment as the first female Chairperson to lead SLASSCOM is indeed a historic moment for the industry. “
Sandra is the Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC whose career in the ICT industry spans over 30 years as the longest tenured employee in the Mobile Telecommunication sector.
Commenting on her appointment Sandra said “I’m humbled and honoured to have been the first female appointed to the Board and now to be elected as Chairperson. SLASSCOM’s secret to success is founded on the strength of our wide network of 350 members and it’s dedicated volunteers who are industry experts, with a passion to develop Sri Lanka’s IT/BPM sector and make a positive impact to the nation. It is their unwavering passion and steadfast dedication that have empowered SLASSCOM to elevate the IT /BPM industry to one of the top five export revenue earners for the country”.
SLASSCOM also announced the appointment of its Office Bearers Ashique M. Ali – Director Talliance (Pvt) Ltd as it’s Vice-Chairman, Jehan Perinpanayagam - CEO Infomate as second Vice-Chairman, Nishan Mendis – Executive Director, Technology Consulting Leader at PwC Sri Lanka as Finance Director and Nuwan Perera – Vice President Commerce at IFS to the position of Operations Director for the year 2021/2022.
“The year ahead translates into an accelerated drive towards creating future ready workforce, upskilling industry practitioners, and scaleup startups – with a fair proportion consisting of women-led organisations, and inclusive growth through regional expansion. Sandra stressed that, “We will be prioritizing member connects, to better understand their challenges and endeavor to act as a catalyst for their growth.”
“SLASSCOM’s marketing forum, now rebranded as Global Trade and Investment forum has made great headway in promoting the IT-BPM industry in the recently concluded Sri Lanka Investment Forum, forging partnerships with key government bodies, foreign missions, and with many chambers and associations, both locally and overseas.” “This will be a key focus during my tenure, and we will aim to accelerate our efforts to promote the “Island of Ingenuity” Sri Lanka’s IT / BPM brand. We also aim to ensure Sri Lanka’s many strengths and unique features are positioned and recognized in international country reports, uplifting the visibility and attractiveness of Sri Lanka for clients and FDI’s in the IT / BPM space”. “Capacity is another key pillar we will focus on. We aim to work with our wide network of educational partners to make available the numbers and the specific technology skill sets, together with the soft skills required by the industry.
“Through the Women Technopreneurs forum we plan to work to further support and facilitate the entry and growth of women into the industry.”
“A brand new initiative SLASSCOM will be championing is in the area of ESG, Environment, Social and Governance. We will be launching an advisory and executive committee to lead the ESG initiative and I am delighted that we have assembled a group of experts in ESG, who will guide us in industry best practices”. Sandra further said she looks forward to working to build a strong and vibrant IT / BPM industry to achieve their vision of $ 5 billion in exports, increase workforce to 200,000 and help foster 1,000 startups by 2025.
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