In a momentous occasion at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Executive Officer of Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad, was honored with the prestigious GSMA Chairman’s Award. This award, considered the GSMA’s highest accolade, recognizes outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations to the global advancement of mobile communications.
Dr. Wijayasuriya, who represents the Axiata Group on the GSMA Board, plays a crucial role in the governing body of the Global Mobile Industry. Axiata, standing as one of Asia’s largest telecommunications groups, operates across Asia, serving over 170 million subscribers. As the CEO of Telecommunications Business, Dr. Wijayasuriya oversees Axiata’s Digital Telecommunications Operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. His portfolio also extends to the Group’s Enterprise and International Businesses, as well as Axiata’s multi-country software and digital transformation unit, Axiata Digital Labs (ADL).
Axiata Group’s operating companies, including Dialog, have consistently been at the forefront of advancing the impact and cutting-edge capabilities of mobile communications across Asia. Dr. Wijayasuriya and Axiata teams from across the Group have actively participated in numerous strategic initiatives of GSMA regionally and globally. Notably, the Axiata Group has played a leading role in advancing the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative in the region.
Previously serving as the Group Chief Executive of Dialog from 1997 to 2016, Dr. Wijayasuriya steered Dialog to become Sri Lanka’s largest telecommunications service provider and one of Asia’s most advanced Quad Play connectivity and Digital Services providers. In 2016, the GSMA recognized his outstanding contribution to the Asian Mobile Industry with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Asian Mobile Industry’ Award at the Asia Mobile Awards. Dr. Wijayasuriya is a Past Chair of GSM Asia Pacific, the regional interest group of the global body, and was named “Sri Lankan of the Year” by Sri Lanka’s premier Business Journal, LMD, in 2008.
