ISM APAC appoints its first Sri Lankan Managing Director
View(s):ISM APAC, the regional arm of Netherlands-based e-commerce company ISM e-Group, has announced the appointment of its first Sri Lankan Managing Director, Priyantha Bethmage after the two Dutch General Managers of the company bid farewell.
From left - ISM e-Group IT Director and Head- Sana Hosting Operations Uditha Wijesundara, ISM APAC Managing Director Priyantha Bethmage, and ISM APAC Finance Director Tharanga Perera.
With its head office located in IT Park Orion City in Colombo, ISM APAC today has over five years of presence in Sri Lanka and has evolved to be a trendsetter in the country’s IT industry exhibiting a rapid and sustainable growth with its technical innovations and professional expertise, the company said in a media release.
The company pioneered the open office concept which resulted in the famous ISM family culture. With a people-centric mindset, it invests on many wellbeing programmes and initiatives to improve employees’ physical fitness, mental health and personal development on both soft and hard skills. ISM’s office in Sri Lanka, the development centre which serves globally, achieved an excellent international working environment on par with its counterparts in such a short period of time.
Its continuous effort and engagement towards its people and corporate culture is well reflected when it was bestowed with a ‘Great Place to Work’ certification in 2019, including being named as one of ‘Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka’ in 2017 by the Great Place To Work Institute. “In its expected long journey in the industry the Dutch management has rested their trust and confidence on Priyantha Bethmage by appointing him as the first Sri Lankan managing director,” the release said.
Mr. Bethmage has over 23 years of experience in information technology industry mainly in software development. His passion was taking up challenges in start-ups based in Belgium, Germany, UK, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. He started his career as a software engineer after graduating from the University of Colombo. Being involved in the managerial arena for a number of years, he got equipped with an MBA from the University of Moratuwa specialising in IT. At present, he is pursuing his second master’s in human resource management and Labour Relations from the University of Colombo.
ISM APAC will structure its Board of Directors along with Uditha Wijesundara, IT Director, ISM eGroup and Head of Sana Hosting Operations and Tharanga Perera, Finance Director.
ISM APAC indulges in many corporate social responsibility programmes including its signature annual ‘Sipsatharata Arunellak’ which uplifts education by developing underprivileged schools across Sri Lanka. It also actively hosts and participates in knowledge transfer sessions, organises inter- and intra-hackathons and sponsors industry-related events, and recruits’ interns from universities among many others.
The Dutch-based group, with its partnerships and experienced teams collectively consisting over 600 employees, is a major contributor to the e-commerce industry globally for more than 25 years and has offices in Sri Lanka, Australia, Austria, Colombia, Germany, Ukraine, UK, and the US.