- Fills position left vacant for over two years
By Madhusha Thavapalakumar
[caption id="attachment_82421" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Lalith Mohan Seneviratne[/caption]
After the position was left vacant for over two years, the state-owned telecommunication provider Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) has announced an appointment to the role of Group CEO in a bid enhance synergy amongst the subsidiaries of SLT.
Yesterday (04), in a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange, SLT announced the appointment of Lalith Mohan Seneviratne as the Group CEO, less than four months of his initial appointment to the SLT Board. Seneviratne was appointed as a non-executive director along with several new appointments to the board on 23 January and was appointed as the Group CEO with effect from 01 May.
Speaking to The Morning Business, SLT CEO Kiththi Perera noted that the appointment does not replace anyone as it was left vacant following the resignation of former group is CEO Dileepa Wijesundera. He added that this is a move made by the board towards improving cooperation between about 8 companies that come under the purview of SLT Group.
Dileepa Wijesundera assumed duties as the SLT Group CEO in March 2015 and resigned in March 2018. Since then a group CEO had not been appointed.
“SLT is largely operating as an independent company. There was a need for a leader to basically take care of companies that come under the group and to establish synergy among them,” Perera stated.
SLT’s subsidiaries include Mobitel (Private) Limited, SLT VisionCom (Private) Limited, SLT Publications (Private) Limited, SKY Network (Private) Limited, Sri Lanka Telecom (Services) Limited, SLT Human Capital Solutions (Private) Limited, SLT Property Management (Private) Limited, SLT Campus (Private) Limited, eChannelling PLC and Galle Submarine Cable Depot (Private) Limited.
According to Perera, at the moment there is lack of coordination between these companies which result in the group missing opportunities in the market.
“If we take SLT and Mobitel, there are a lot of areas we can work together. There is much less synergy between the mobile arm and fixed communication arm. If you really look at development side and market opportunities, there is a lot of synergy we can establish for the betterment of the group. This synergy is mainly going to be driven by group CEO.”
Lalith Mohan Seneviratne is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology UK. In 1988, he became the head of engineering of Celltel, setting up south Asia’s first mobile telephone network. Currently Seneviratne is a member of the board of directors of four mini hydro companies.
The Chairman of the SLT Group is Rohan Fernando and the current board of directors comprises of Non-Executive Director Chan Chee Beng, Independent Non-Executive Director Lawrence Paratz, Non-Executive Director Lai Choon Foong, Independent Non-Executive Director Lalith Seneviratne, Independent Non-Executive Director Mohan Weerakoon, PC, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director A.K. Seneviratne and Non-Independent Non-Executive Director Ranjith Rubasinghe.
Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, the Company’s market capitalization as at 31 December 2018 topped Rs.42.23 billion. The two main shareholders of Sri Lanka Telecom as at end 2018 were the Government of Sri Lanka which held 49.5% stake in SLT through the Secretary to the Treasury and Global Telecommunication Holdings (GTH) N.V. which owned a stake of 44.98%.
Lalith Mohan Seneviratne[/caption]
After the position was left vacant for over two years, the state-owned telecommunication provider Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) has announced an appointment to the role of Group CEO in a bid enhance synergy amongst the subsidiaries of SLT.
Yesterday (04), in a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange, SLT announced the appointment of Lalith Mohan Seneviratne as the Group CEO, less than four months of his initial appointment to the SLT Board. Seneviratne was appointed as a non-executive director along with several new appointments to the board on 23 January and was appointed as the Group CEO with effect from 01 May.
Speaking to The Morning Business, SLT CEO Kiththi Perera noted that the appointment does not replace anyone as it was left vacant following the resignation of former group is CEO Dileepa Wijesundera. He added that this is a move made by the board towards improving cooperation between about 8 companies that come under the purview of SLT Group.
Dileepa Wijesundera assumed duties as the SLT Group CEO in March 2015 and resigned in March 2018. Since then a group CEO had not been appointed.
“SLT is largely operating as an independent company. There was a need for a leader to basically take care of companies that come under the group and to establish synergy among them,” Perera stated.
SLT’s subsidiaries include Mobitel (Private) Limited, SLT VisionCom (Private) Limited, SLT Publications (Private) Limited, SKY Network (Private) Limited, Sri Lanka Telecom (Services) Limited, SLT Human Capital Solutions (Private) Limited, SLT Property Management (Private) Limited, SLT Campus (Private) Limited, eChannelling PLC and Galle Submarine Cable Depot (Private) Limited.
According to Perera, at the moment there is lack of coordination between these companies which result in the group missing opportunities in the market.
“If we take SLT and Mobitel, there are a lot of areas we can work together. There is much less synergy between the mobile arm and fixed communication arm. If you really look at development side and market opportunities, there is a lot of synergy we can establish for the betterment of the group. This synergy is mainly going to be driven by group CEO.”
Lalith Mohan Seneviratne is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology UK. In 1988, he became the head of engineering of Celltel, setting up south Asia’s first mobile telephone network. Currently Seneviratne is a member of the board of directors of four mini hydro companies.
The Chairman of the SLT Group is Rohan Fernando and the current board of directors comprises of Non-Executive Director Chan Chee Beng, Independent Non-Executive Director Lawrence Paratz, Non-Executive Director Lai Choon Foong, Independent Non-Executive Director Lalith Seneviratne, Independent Non-Executive Director Mohan Weerakoon, PC, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director A.K. Seneviratne and Non-Independent Non-Executive Director Ranjith Rubasinghe.
Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, the Company’s market capitalization as at 31 December 2018 topped Rs.42.23 billion. The two main shareholders of Sri Lanka Telecom as at end 2018 were the Government of Sri Lanka which held 49.5% stake in SLT through the Secretary to the Treasury and Global Telecommunication Holdings (GTH) N.V. which owned a stake of 44.98%.