Board of Directors 1 2 4 5 6 8 Annual Report 2017 3 7 9 15
Board of Directors 1 2 DATUK AZZAT KAMALUDIN Chairman / Datuk Azzat Kamaludin was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata as Chairman and Director on 21 July 2008. Datuk Azzat is a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad, and is a partner in the law firm of Azzat and Izzat, Malaysia. Datuk Azzat served as an administrative and diplomatic officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia from 1970 to 1979 and has also served as a member of the Securities Commission, Malaysia from 1993 to 1999. Datuk Azzat is presently a Director of several public listed and private limited companies in Malaysia. Datuk Azzat graduated from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, with degrees in Law and International Law, and was admitted as a Barristerat-Law of the Middle Temple, London in 1970. Datuk Azzat was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1979. DR. HANS WIJAYASURIYA Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 19 January 2001 and functioned as the Group Chief Executive of the company during the period 01 September 1997 to 31 December 2016. Dr. Wijayasuriya was appointed to the role of Regional Chief Executive Officer for the South Asia Region of the Axiata Group in January 2016 and also holds the position of Corporate Executive Vice President of the Axiata Group. Dr. Wijayasuriya serves on the Boards of several Axiata Group Companies and also represents the Axiata Group on the Board of the Global TM Forum. He also serves on the Board of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology (SLINTEC) and on the Board of John Keells Holdings PLC. Dr. Wijayasuriya is presently the Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and is also a past Chairman of GSM Asia Pacific the regional interest group of the GSM Association. In 2016, the GSMA, the worldwide association governing the Global Mobile Industry, honoured Dr. Wijayasuriya with the Outstanding Contribution to Asian Mobile Industry Award - the highest honour at the Asia Mobile Awards. In 2008, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya was named the Sri Lankan of the Year by Sri Lanka s premier business journal the LMD. Dr. Wijayasuriya holds a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, an MBA from the University of Warwick UK and a PhD in Digital Mobile Communications from the University of Bristol, UK. Dr. Wijayasuriya is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering Technology of the UK (IET), and a Chartered Professional Engineer. 16 Dialog Axiata PLC
3 4 MR. SUPUN WEERASINGHE Group Chief Executive/Non-Independent, Executive Director Mr. Supun Weerasinghe was appointed as the Group Chief Executive and as a Member of the Board of Dialog Axiata on 01 January 2017. Mr. Weerasinghe commenced his career in telecommunications at Dialog Axiata in 1999 and held multiple roles, such as Head of Strategy and CEO of the Mobile Business before being appointed as Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata in 2010. In 2013, he was seconded to Axiata Group Berhad in Malaysia as its Group Chief Strategy Officer. At Axiata, he also served as the Head of Network Transformation Strategic Business Unit under which he led Group Technology, Carrier Collaboration and the Axiata Intelligence Unit. From January 2014 to October 2016, he functioned as the CEO and Managing Director of Robi Axiata Limited in Bangladesh, the second largest mobile network provider in Bangladesh with 33 million subscribers. Mr. Weerasinghe is a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Financial Management from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Mr. Weerasinghe also holds an MBA from the University of Western Sydney, Australia and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. MR. MOHAMED MUHSIN Independent, Non-Executive Director Mr. Mohamed Muhsin was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 14 June 2006. Mr. Muhsin s experience includes working as a Strategic Management Consultant and Director on international corporate and Foundation Boards. Prior to his retirement as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the World Bank, he was responsible for aligning information technology with the organisation s business strategy. Mr. Muhsin successfully implemented major reforms in global telecommunications, video conferencing, information management and enterprise business systems, and the work he accomplished is featured in a Harvard Business School Case Study. Mr. Muhsin has also worked in senior positions in the private sector in Sri Lanka and served for several years as the Group Financial Director of Zambia s Industrial and Mining Conglomerate (ZIMCO) and as advisor on state enterprise reform in the Office of the then President of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda. Mr. Muhsin is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. Annual Report 2017 17
Board of Directors 5 6 MR. JAMES MACLAURIN Independent, Non-Executive Director Mr. James Maclaurin was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 10 May 2011. Mr. Maclaurin currently serves as an Advisor and Consultant to various telecoms and technology companies in Asia and Europe. Prior to this, he functioned as the Group Chief Financial Officer of Axiata Group Berhad from April 2011 to December 2013 and thereafter as the Founding Chief Executive Officer of Edotco Group SDN Berhad, the infrastructure spinout of Axiata. Mr. Maclaurin has worked in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years and has held a number of senior finance leadership positions including Group CFO of Axiata, CFO for Africa and Central Europe at Vodafone, Group CFO of Celtel, the pan-african mobile operator, Group CFO of UbiNetics, the 3G technology developer and EVP Finance of Marconi, the UK-based telecoms vendor. In the mid 90 s he worked in Asia and served as the Finance Director of General Electric Co. of Singapore and prior to this he was the Finance Director of the General Electric Co. of Bangladesh. Mr. Maclaurin currently serves on the Boards of a number of international public listed and private limited companies. Mr. Maclaurin is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and holds degrees in Engineering and Finance from Scottish universities. DESHAMANYA MAHESH AMALEAN Independent, Non-Executive Director Mr. Mahesh Amalean was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 15 May 2014. Mr. Amalean is the Co-Founder/Chairman of MAS Holdings (Private) Limited ( MAS ), a Sri Lanka-based global concept-to-delivery apparel services provider, with a 30 year tradition of working with the best global fashion brands, and a global presence across North America, Europe, Middle East, Far East and South Asia providing employment to over 93,000 associates. In recognition of his service to the nation through the National Committee of Economic Development and the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation, and his continuous initiatives to rebuild and develop the economic and social standards of Sri Lanka, Mr. Amalean was conferred the title Deshamanya in 2005 by the President of Sri Lanka. [Deshamanya (Pride of the Nation) is the second highest national civil honor awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka. It is awarded for highly meritorious service ]. In 2011, The Open University of Sri Lanka conferred an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) to him in recognition of his contribution to the Country. In 2013, Mr. Amalean was one of the 5 global business leaders recognised with a UN Award at the WEP s (Women s Empowerment Principles) inaugural Leadership Awards presentation where he received the award for Cultural Change for Empowerment. Mr. Amalean is a recipient of the CNBC-IIFA Global Leadership Award (2010) and is ranked amongst the Top 20 Progressive Asian Leaders by the World Business Magazine. Mr. Amalean completed his executive education on Strategic Leadership from Columbia University in New York (USA); and holds a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras (India). 18 Dialog Axiata PLC
7 8 MR. THANDALAM VEERAVALLI THIRUMALA CHARI (CHARI TVT) Mr. Chari TVT was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 19 September 2014. Mr. Chari currently serves as a consultant to a large listed airport company in Malaysia and a high-tech semiconductor pure play fabrication company. He is also an advisory member of the Malaysia Institute of Accountants Subcommittee and serves as an Advisor to a UK based listed software company. Mr. Chari presents papers at many external forums and assists the next generation by mentoring and coaching. Mr. Chari served as the Group Chief Financial Officer of Axiata Group Berhad from January 2014 to December 2016, during which he was responsible for corporate finance policies, influenced group portfolio strategies, business planning, managing investor relations and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Chari has been the recipient of awards from Finance Asia Hong Kong and for the best Sukuk issuance awarded by the Central Bank of Malaysia. Prior to this, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, a subsidiary of Axiata. During his time, he was instrumental for many initiatives that contributed to the excellent financial performance of Celcom, making it one of the most profitable companies in Malaysia. Prior to this assignment, he was the Vice President, Sales at HP Financial Services Asia Pacific and Japan. Mr. Chari had an illustrious career in HP for over 20 years, of which 10 years was in senior finance positions in various countries (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore) and 10 years heading Sales and Marketing for Asia Pac and a large business unit with revenue of close to USD 1Bn. Mr. Chari holds a Master s in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA. Mr Chari is also a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK (CIMA) and an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ACA) and Institute of Cost and Works Accountants (ICWA) from India. MR. DOMINIC PAUL ARENA Mr. Dominic Paul Arena was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 01 June 2016. Mr. Arena is presently the Group Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer of Axiata Group Berhad, and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). Mr. Arena has over 24 years experience in the telecoms, media & technology sectors having held executive roles with global telecom operators including Vodafone, Orange and British Telecom as well as for leading strategic advisory firms. Mr. Arena has lived and worked in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for the majority of the past 16 years providing strategic advice and corporate development support to operators, financial institutions and Government agencies across Asia. Prior to joining Axiata, he was the Group Managing Director of AEC Advisory, a regional strategic and corporate advisory firm headquartered in Singapore serving telecom, media, technology and Government clients in strategy, market entry, M&A, transformation and regulatory policy. Preceding this he has held several senior corporate advisory roles as a Global Equity Partner of Value Partners Management Consulting, as Regional Director APAC for BT Global Services consulting group, as a Director of KPMG in Australia and a Director with KPMG Consulting in SE Asia in charge of telecom and media advisory. Mr. Arena s experience as a trusted strategic adviser spans a broad network of international and regional operators in the Telecom, Media, Satellite and Digital Services industries as well as the Government sector, and he has been widely published and referenced in the media. Mr. Arena holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Telecommunications (Honours) and a Graduate Diploma in Engineering Management (Dip. Eng. Prac., Honours) from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Annual Report 2017 19
Board of Directors 9 MR. WILLEM LUCAS TIMMERMANS Mr. Willem Lucas Timmermans was appointed to the Board of Dialog Axiata on 10 May 2017. Mr. Timmermans served as a Director and Chief Corporate Transformation Officer of PT XL Axiata TBK, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad from 2006 to March 2018. Mr. Timmermans commenced his career as an expert in Finance at TVM Insurance Company and held strategic positions in KPN Netherlands from 1988 until 1997. Mr. Timmermans furthered his career and served as Finance Director of PT Bakrie Elektronik (Indonesia) and was appointed Vice President Business Control and Investor Relation of PT Telkomsel prior to his appointment as Director and Chief Financial Officer of PT XL Axiata (Indonesia) in 2006. In 2011, he served as a Director and Chief Operating Officer and in 2015 as Director and Chief Strategic & Transformation Officer of XL. Mr. Timmermans also served as a Non-Executive Director of Celcom Axiata Berhad from 2011 to 2017. Mr. Timmermans holds degrees in Business Administration from the Business Administration and Economics School from the State University Groningen, Netherlands and Business Economics and Financing from the State University of Groningen, Netherlands. 20 Dialog Axiata PLC