New Chairperson, Board and leadership transition at ICTA
14 Mar 2016
The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) announces the appointment of a new Chairperson and Board of Directors, with the change of Government. The new Board consists of Mrs Chitranganie Mubarak (Chairperson), Mr Muhunthan Canagey (Managing Director), Dr Ajith Madurapperuma, Mr Ananda Wijeratne, Mr Upul Kumarapperuma and Mr Chanuka Wattegama.
Mrs Chitranganie Mubarak is a BSc. Honours Graduate from the University of Colombo and is well known in the ICT sector for empowering rural communities with IT. She worked at ICTA, heading the e-Society Programme of the e-Sri Lanka Development Project for almost nine years, before joining a Senior Management position at SLIIT. She was instrumental in conceptualizing and launching close to 250 projects, with wide ranging development outcomes some of which have received international recognition. She is also a Member of the Board of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Kelaniya and a Member of the National Steering Committee on Food Security of the National Science Foundation. Prior to assuming duties at ICTA she was a Director at the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.
After a period of almost 12 years at ICTA its CEO Reshan Dewapura will be concluding his tenure, the new Board of Directors announced. Mr Muhunthan Canagey will be taking over responsibilities from Reshan. With the appointment of Muhunthan, the Government plans to widen the role of ICTA in the public and private sector, initiating and implementing the National ICT Policy, while also contributing to reforms, innovation and creating new opportunities for the local ICT industry. Muhunthan and Reshan will work together until the 28th of February 2015, to ensure a smooth transition of operations at ICTA.
Mr Muhunthan Canagey has been in the ICT industry for over two decades and is one of the country’s youngest entrepreneurs. He stepped into the field of IT at a very young age of 16. Canagey holds a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from the University of Keelle (UK) and has extensive knowledge of the industry. He was the founder and CEO of multiple technology enterprises and was the founder and CEO of a highly successful enterprise in the area of satellite communication and media: a first of this nature to be formed in Sri Lanka.
The ICTA Chairperson and Board of Directors while appreciating the dedicated services of Reshan Dewapura towards ICTA stated that “during Dewapura’s tenure as CEO and COO he helped steer the World Bank Funded e-Sri Lanka Development Project to a successful conclusion”.
In a recently published report the World Bank (available at www.icta.lk), while commending ICTA, noted that ICTA has developed into a capable and professional institution, which played a substantive role in the significant outcomes that the e-Sri Lanka Project has attained. The overall rating given to outcomes of e-Sri Lanka was satisfactory, which reflected that ICTA played an essential role in achieving the following key results:
Implementing a results based M &E approach to improve project performances and measure outcome/ impacts Reshan Dewapura with over 27 years experience in the ICT industry, has been at ICTA since the inception of the organization in July 2003, and has held the posts of Director Information Infrastructure and Chief Operating Officer, prior to being appointed as CEO in 2010. Reshan also functioned as a Director at ICTA’s two subsidiary companies - Sri Lanka CERT (SLCERT) and Lanka Govt. Information Infrastructure (LGII). He is also a Board Director at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), as well as at the LKNIC (Sri Lanka’s Domain Registry). He is a member of the Governing Council of the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM).
The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka is the apex ICT institution of the Government. In terms of the Information and Communication Technology Act No. 27 of 2003 (ICT Act) ICTA has been mandated to take all necessary measures to implement the Government’s Policy and Action Plan in relation to ICT. In terms of section 6 of the ICT Act, ICTA is required to assist the Cabinet of Ministers in the formulation of the National Policy on ICT and provide all information necessary for its formulation. ICTA is wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka.
Mrs Chitranganie Mubarak is a BSc. Honours Graduate from the University of Colombo and is well known in the ICT sector for empowering rural communities with IT. She worked at ICTA, heading the e-Society Programme of the e-Sri Lanka Development Project for almost nine years, before joining a Senior Management position at SLIIT. She was instrumental in conceptualizing and launching close to 250 projects, with wide ranging development outcomes some of which have received international recognition. She is also a Member of the Board of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Kelaniya and a Member of the National Steering Committee on Food Security of the National Science Foundation. Prior to assuming duties at ICTA she was a Director at the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.
After a period of almost 12 years at ICTA its CEO Reshan Dewapura will be concluding his tenure, the new Board of Directors announced. Mr Muhunthan Canagey will be taking over responsibilities from Reshan. With the appointment of Muhunthan, the Government plans to widen the role of ICTA in the public and private sector, initiating and implementing the National ICT Policy, while also contributing to reforms, innovation and creating new opportunities for the local ICT industry. Muhunthan and Reshan will work together until the 28th of February 2015, to ensure a smooth transition of operations at ICTA.
Mr Muhunthan Canagey has been in the ICT industry for over two decades and is one of the country’s youngest entrepreneurs. He stepped into the field of IT at a very young age of 16. Canagey holds a Master’s Degree in Information Technology from the University of Keelle (UK) and has extensive knowledge of the industry. He was the founder and CEO of multiple technology enterprises and was the founder and CEO of a highly successful enterprise in the area of satellite communication and media: a first of this nature to be formed in Sri Lanka.
The ICTA Chairperson and Board of Directors while appreciating the dedicated services of Reshan Dewapura towards ICTA stated that “during Dewapura’s tenure as CEO and COO he helped steer the World Bank Funded e-Sri Lanka Development Project to a successful conclusion”.
In a recently published report the World Bank (available at www.icta.lk), while commending ICTA, noted that ICTA has developed into a capable and professional institution, which played a substantive role in the significant outcomes that the e-Sri Lanka Project has attained. The overall rating given to outcomes of e-Sri Lanka was satisfactory, which reflected that ICTA played an essential role in achieving the following key results:
- Modernisation of Government services, development of several electronic services for citizens and business, and improvement of the internal efficiency of the Government
- Provision of affordable access to information infrastructure and services.
- Technical assistance to build capacity for ICT leadership
- Improved policies and laws required for ICT diffusion
- Increased ICT literacy in every part of the country
- Promotion of IT and BPO exports, and mobilising of resources and innovation in ICT applications to meet priority social needs.
Implementing a results based M &E approach to improve project performances and measure outcome/ impacts Reshan Dewapura with over 27 years experience in the ICT industry, has been at ICTA since the inception of the organization in July 2003, and has held the posts of Director Information Infrastructure and Chief Operating Officer, prior to being appointed as CEO in 2010. Reshan also functioned as a Director at ICTA’s two subsidiary companies - Sri Lanka CERT (SLCERT) and Lanka Govt. Information Infrastructure (LGII). He is also a Board Director at the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), as well as at the LKNIC (Sri Lanka’s Domain Registry). He is a member of the Governing Council of the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM).
The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka is the apex ICT institution of the Government. In terms of the Information and Communication Technology Act No. 27 of 2003 (ICT Act) ICTA has been mandated to take all necessary measures to implement the Government’s Policy and Action Plan in relation to ICT. In terms of section 6 of the ICT Act, ICTA is required to assist the Cabinet of Ministers in the formulation of the National Policy on ICT and provide all information necessary for its formulation. ICTA is wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka.