Rekha Weerasooriya

Career single mom with background in work experience CX, HR, change management and digital transformation

Ms. Rekha Weerasooriya is currently seconded to Axiata Group Berhad Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since July 2024 as the Head of People Capability in the Group People Division to drive the group-wide talent & succession and workforce capabilities project for the corporate centre, supports organisational development initiatives and M&A people governance circle.

Prior she was the Vice President – HR Transformation since 2022 October at Dialog Axiata PLC the premier communications service provider in Sri Lanka and led the HR and Organisation Transformation.

She is responsible for defining and driving the HR Strategy, Simplification and Digitisation of HR Digital Transformation, and Analytics-based HR decision-making in the HR landscape. Organisational Development, Culture, Performance Management, Learning and Development, Dialog Academy (Sales, Agile & Analytics Academy), Talent and succession strategy, she further drives the organisation transformation projects and Change Management, Mergers, and organisation re-set and carve-outs.

She has over 25 years of experience. Rekha has handled multiple roles including Customer Experience B2C & B2B, HR & and is a Transformation Specialist.

She was selected as an Axiata Champion, the top 0.5% elite performer amongst the Axiata Group Berhad Malaysia. Rekha is a Certified Happiness Coach from the Berkeley Institute of Well-Being, California. She has been training young professionals for over 23 years; and is a Certified trainer from the City & Guilds UK.

She completed a residential General Management Development Programme “Leadership in the Digital Age”, at INSEAD Business School, Singapore. She emerged as one of the top 3 learners in the cohort in the Harvard Axcelerator “Advancing Next-Gen Leaders” development program by Harvard Business Publishing Corporate to develop the leaders at Axiata Group Berhad Malaysia.

She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt professional with an MBA from Buckinghamshire New University UK.

World HRD Congress 2018 awarded her “100 Most Influential Global HR Leaders Award” and “100 Top Global Training & Development Minds”.  

Sri Lanka Leadership Awards 2020, CMO Asia & World Women Leadership Congress awarded the “Sri Lanka’s Women Leaders” award, and the “Most Influential HR Leaders in Sri Lanka” endorsed by the CHRO Asia and presented by The World Federation of HR Professionals 2020 & “Asia’s Women Leaders” Award by World Women Leadership Congress 2021.

Rekha is also a Lecturer, Speaker, Panelist, and Jury member. She is on the “CX Network” Advisory Board and 12th Edition ACEF Global Customer Engagement Forum and Awards 2023.

She also represents as a Country Patron for the 11th World Women Leadership Congress & Awards™. Rekha represents the “HRO Today Association” APAC Board of Advisors and is a member of the Customer Institute Board Women in Management (WIM) in collaboration with Women at Work a partnership between the International Finance Corporation (IFC and the Government of Australia, awarded “Leadership in the Field of HR & Diversity Sector” at the Top50 Professional & Career Women Global Awards - Thirteenth Edition" 2023. She was featured in the 2024 annual Top50 calendar.

Global HR Excellence Awards™ 32nd Edition awarded her the “HR Leadership Award” at the World HRD Congress & Awards announced at Taj Lands’ End Mumbai, and the Sri Lanka Employer Brands Awards 2024 awarded her “Topmost HR Leaders” at Taj Samudra Colombo.

In September 2024 she was awarded "Young HR Talent of the Year" at the Digital HR Transformation Summit & Awards held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

2024 HRO Today Association USA awarded "HR Excellence Practitioner” in the category of HR Excellence during the December 2024 annual awards.

---

---