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Li San Lim
Dialog Axiata PLC, Group Chief Operating Officer
Speaker Bio
Li San is the Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest integrated telecom service provider. She oversees the Consumer Businesses of Dialog – serving over 20 million customers and representing >80% of the Group’s Absolute EBITDA. Following 2 years of intensive operational turnaround and a successful merger integration with Airtel Lanka at the back of Sri Lanka’s recovery from an unprecedented macroeconomic crisis, Dialog’s valuation grew 4X versus 1Q24 and recently emerged as the Most Valuable Company in Sri Lanka. She is currently also serving as a Non-Executive Director of Dialog Finance PLC.
Li San has been with the Axiata Group of Companies since 2015. Before joining Dialog, Li San was the Group Head of Business Operations of Axiata, where she oversaw portfolio performance management and board governance of all its operating companies. Within this role, she was part of the integration planning team for the Celcom-Digi merger in Malaysia and was Axiata’s appointed Board Observer / Investment Manager for CelcomDigi Berhad. Additionally, she led the post-acquisition integration of PT LinkNet Tbk, a fixed broadband player in Indonesia. She was also a Non-Executive Director at Smart Axiata Co. Ltd., the leading mobile service provider in Cambodia.
Prior to this stint, Li San headed the Group CEO’s Office where she supported the President and Group CEO in strategy development, performance management & strategic projects. Preceding that, she spent three years in Group Strategy where she also led Group Research. Before joining Axiata, Li San spent the formative years of her career with British American Tobacco where she took on various Finance leadership roles. Li San graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce and Applied Finance. She is a Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant through CPA Australia and has completed her executive education with Harvard, INSEAD and IMD.
