Wijesundera to empower talent within SLT Group

Group Chief Executive Officer, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Dileepa Wijesundera during a recent interview reflected on his un-dogmatic approach to his triple value propositions for the SLT in the next five years; namely the People Proposition, the Value Proposition and the Profit Proposition.

His receptiveness to new ideas and his ability to get the job done apparently come from his professional maturity spanning over 35 years in cross-cultural experiences in the international corporate arena.

Engineering, managing, negotiating, marketing, innovative thinking, relationship-focus and deal-focus have become second nature to him, thanks to his globetrotting in grey suits and boiler suits.

Born and bred in Colombo and educated at Royal College, Colombo, he qualified as an engineer with a BSc in Civil Engineering and obtained an MSc in Management from the Loughborough University of Technology (UK).

He has held top positions in a number of prestigious corporate bodies including; Head of Emirates Sky Cargo, Canada, Senior Vice-President Qatar Airways, and Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

On March 9, Dileepa assumed duties as Group CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC.

Excerpts:

Q. What is your strategic approach to deal with the challenges in the journey forward?

A. As an organization we have first got our fundamentals right. In my experience, the most important asset of an organization is its people. The technological abilities and expertise in the industry and within the organization are vital in creating a strategic approach to meet the challenges.

SLT has been there for 150 years. Nobody can discount the expertise it carries. My primary goal is to develop that strength further and bring all that talent together and make SLT a very strong company in terms of commercialization and technological advancement. During my first six months here, I've brought teams together at top level and strengthened cooperation within the Group.

Q. You have brought a wealth of experience to the SLT. How will you put it into good use at SLT?

A. What I bring to the table is a diverse set of corporate expertise and corporate management practices. And that is for building highly competent and strong teams. Recognizing talent within an organization and harnessing it to its full potential has contributed to my success elsewhere. So, one of my main focuses would be recognizing talent within the SLT Group, empower it and bring it to the surface. Project planning needs to be streamlined and the use of superior quality material in our products and services will be ensured, leaving no room for use of any substandard equipment or accessories or peripherals.

Q. Have you found out what's going on in the market to plan your next moves?

A. Yes, we are keeping our ears to the ground. If you look at our business, you will see that our business direction has already been set in a purposeful manner. That's the reason why SLT has been in business very successfully, throughout its long and illustrious history. The business aspects and technological advancements have been built by experts and co-experts within the company. I have chief officers who are very knowledgeable about the market.

My job is to encourage them to bring their findings to me and I incorporate my own expertise into their perspective and fit it all into the big picture, and then drive forward. I allow the core SLT personnel the total freedom to do things the right way and deliver the targets set by me. They know that I'm very liberal in my approach to their working methodologies but that I'm very strict on optimum performance and tangible results within given timelines.

Q. Have you identified the changing outlook of the telecommunication business?

A. Yes, we are fully aware of it. For example, one of the things we recently did was to change our direction in marketing. We have a wide range of communication solutions, tech offerings and have made substantial technological advancements, but we have been catering to a traditional segment of the market. We have not recognized the full potential of the existing market. My contribution is to guide the collective expertise into a new era by recognizing the need out there in its broadest sense, and provide solutions to them to increase the value proposition to the consumer and profit propositions to the company.

Q. Have you taken the temperature of consumer needs?

A. Yes. This is something I've gained insights into through my global exposure to the market; to determine what is already available in the market, the emerging trends of the market and to match and upgrade our offerings to the transforming demands of the market. What's most important here is the creation of a new market space with innovative SLT offerings and convincing the consumers that SLT offers them 'just the thing like no other'.

Q. Data services are becoming a major source of income for the players in the industry. How do you see it?

A. If you look at the global picture, the advancement of data is exponential. It would be naïve of us to sit here and assume that purely on voice market you could propel the business. There's an increasing demand for storing and transferring of data for business purposes. The need for transferring large volumes of data keeps increasing. We are looking at data in a serious manner.

Q. Tell us something about SLT product innovation.

A. You need to look at applications. For example, an SLT application for gourmet recipes.

If that's available, consumers will love to use it because it will make their life more exciting and easier. So we need to think out of the box to enable Sri Lankans to get the best communication solutions and make them feel that they belong to the new world. If we are "there", there can be no doubt that SLT is a brand you can't do without. That's exactly the strategic direction we are looking at.

Q. Update us on SLT's submarine cable network, Mobitel 4G LTE network and ultrafast broadband service through FTTH technology.

A. The new sub cable will be launched in 2017, opening new international business for SLT. Meanwhile, FTTH or Fibre to the Home is progressing well with increased sales in the past few months as a result of the 'speed up' campaign. As for LTE, we see similar demand particularly in Green business practices.

Q. Some SLT employees say engineers dominate every department of SLT; Finance, Accounting, HR, and Administration. Due to this the company has a bias against other professionals.

A. I strongly believe that an organization such as this must have a wide range of experts. The reason that the company has been dominated by engineers is traditional. That's the way the organization has been set. All the processes and procedures have been set in that fashion.

But we need to start recognizing other expertise in the fields of information technology, human resources, and administration. We are beginning to look at it. I'm a person who has been successful in running organizations as I am not much into treating qualifications as the superior thing.

Instead I look at the job-need and who fits it best. For example, if there's a certain job to be done and you have to be open-minded who can do it best. It could be an administrator, it could be an accountant or it could be an engineer. Qualifications don't necessarily get the job done. In the end, what it takes is your skills and commitment. So it's about people.

Q. SLT is not having a field day in the market. Can you meet competition?

A. We can deal with any competitor. Competition is healthy. Competition makes us tick and think. In the absence of competition you don't have a healthy business environment. Our competitors have certain strengths and we have other strengths. The market is out there for all. We have to fear competition. Competition energizes us more and it keeps our business abreast of all the latest developments.

By a special correspondent