Marks the Close of an Era as Sri Lanka's Longest Serving Mobile Telecommunications Professional
After three and a half decades of service leadership in the country, Sandra De Zoysa announced her exit, marking not only the end of a remarkable chapter but the close of an era in Sri Lanka’s mobile telecommunications industry. Her journey, spanning the entire history of the nation’s mobile sector, began long before her twenty eight years at Dialog Axiata. It started in the pioneering days of Celltel, Sri Lanka’s first mobile operator, where she was among the earliest professionals who spearheaded the launch of mobile communications in the country way back in 1989.
She then continued in the same line of work at Call Link as a key member of the leadership team that launched the second mobile operation in the country, which is now Hutch, contributing to the formative years of an industry that was still discovering its identity through transformative technology.
These early experiences became the foundation for her lifelong mission to uplift the standard of service in telecommunications. Long before the terms were formally recognised in Sri Lanka, she played a leading role in introducing customer service, customer & employee experience management, and Loyalty management. Her pioneering efforts in Digital Transformation were fuelled by visionary innovation, seeing the first forms of self service channels in the country, like IVR, ACD and SMS and later introduced Apps, Bots, knowledge management and community portals, kiosks and social channels introducing customers to the concept of ‘service from anywhere, anytime’. This contribution eventually transformed how organisations across all service sectors understood and served their customers.
Reflecting on her exit from Dialog Axiata, she described the moment as bittersweet, noting that the twenty eight years she spent there profoundly shaped both her career and the organisation’s evolution into a customer centric leader.
In a heartfelt message on LinkedIn she shared that Dialog Axiata had been her home, a place that offered her opportunities, challenges, milestones and a community of extraordinary people, especially within the API Dialog family. Her announcement honoured the countless colleagues, mentors, partners and teams who had walked alongside her throughout her journey.
During her tenure at Dialog, she became synonymous with customer experience excellence, service innovation, and transformative leadership, developing a culture grounded in empathy and genuine care. Yet in looking back on that period she placed the spotlight not on her accomplishments but on the people who contributed to the organisation’s success. She expressed her deepest gratitude to the Board of Directors, to the two direct superiors who guided her, to her fellow senior management colleagues and to the broader Dialog community for their trust, support and partnership over the years.
She described it as an honour to work with talented individuals who embodied innovation and customer focus and who lived the spirit of ‘service from my heart’ every day. This, she said, was the cultural essence that made the organisation thrive.
A particularly emotional tribute was reserved for her own management team, whom she described as the very best there is. She acknowledged their dedication, enthusiasm, strategic clarity and relentless drive, qualities that contributed not only to the organisation’s achievements but also to her personal development and leadership journey. She also recognised the indispensable role of Dialog’s extended network of partners and service providers, noting that they helped shape the collective success of the organisation and the strength of its islandwide 24/7 service ecosystem.
For De Zoysa, the greatest privilege of her entire career so far has been serving the people of Sri Lanka. She reflected on the honour of supporting over twenty million customers and connecting with thousands of employees, partners and industry colleagues across multiple generations. Her words illustrate the deep sense of commitment and purpose that has guided her through the entirety of her professional life.
She now steps into her next chapter with great optimism and excitement, ready to take on the world. With characteristic confidence she hinted at the next evolution of her professional journey and encouraged her community to anticipate what comes next, referring with a smile to SandraDeZoysa3.0 in 2026.
Her departure marks the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter at Dialog Axiata, but it also represents something larger. It signifies the closing of a remarkable era in Sri Lanka’s mobile telecommunications history, from analog to digital technologies including 2G, 3G, 4G, & 5G and convergence of the internet, led by a pioneer whose influence, powered by visionary innovation and transformative leadership, has touched every part of the industry. From her beginnings at Celltel to her contributions at Call Link and her twenty eight years of leadership at Dialog Axiata, her impact continues to shape the nation’s service culture and its approach to customer experience.
If her parting message is any indication, this moment is only the beginning of a new stage in a journey that has already transformed the industry and for Sandra De Zoysa, the best is yet to come.
With the SLASCOMM Board
