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Yasas Abeywickrama: Chat with Yasas Abeywickrama Global Top Young Business, IT Professional, Entrepreneur and Author
Yasas V. Abeywickrama was recognised in 2003 by CIMA (UK) as an up and coming business leader for the future. In 2009 he was named the Young Professional of the Year by Professions Australia. In 2011, Yasas was recognised with a TOYP award (Ten Outstanding Young Persons).

Yasas has enjoyed a distinguished career thus far, working in the UK, USA, Sri Lanka and Australia in project management, business analysis, consulting and training, and later emerged as an entrepreneur. He has also been trained in the USA, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

He started his career at Virtusa in 2003, a US-based global provider of software development and ICT services in Sri Lanka. Yasas began in Software Engineering and later moved into Business Analysis roles, which saw him travelling around the world with postings in the USA and UK. During this period, Yasas had the opportunity to work on projects for high profile companies like British Telecom & Siemens. Later Yasas worked for Accenture, the world's biggest ICT consulting company. At Accenture he had the opportunity of serving major clients such as Telstra (the leading telecommunications provider in Australia), and his area of responsibility was around consulting and project management.

In 2010, Yasas returned to Sri Lanka permanently to serve his motherland. After his return, he co-founded Lanka BPO Academy, which is Sri Lanka's largest and pioneering organisation for training people for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

He is a proud product of Ananda College Colombo. He was an ardent debater during his school days and was the Vice President and Secretary of the Sinhalese Oratory and Debating Society. After leaving school, he served his alma mater as the Secretary and subsequently as the President of the Millennia Group of Ananda College, an OBA group of the college. He was the Vice President of Ananda 99 Group and a committee member for a number of years.

He is a graduate of the University of Colombo, where he obtained an honours degree in Computer Science (2004). Yasas holds a Masters in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia (2010).

He held the highly influential role within the ICT sector as the Director of Young IT Professionals Board of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) in 2009 and 2010. In this role he had the crucial role of devising strategy to promote ICT among young people as well as to serve the needs of the younger segment of the industry. He also played a consulting role for South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC) in 2011.

Since 2012 he has been an active member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka, which is the apex body for IT professionals in Sri Lanka. Yasas has served the Executive Council for many years and is currently the Secretary.

As a freelance journalist, he has written widely. He writes a regular column for The Island for nearly four years now. He was a guest resource person for FM Derana and TV Derana. Yasas wrote a regular column for two years for the PC Authority magazine in Australia. Currently he is a presenter for the Rise & Shine Morning Show on Channel Eye.

He has published a book on Business Information Technology (BIT) entitled 'A bit of BIT' (ISBN: 955-99562-0-5) and written articles for various publications. This was the first book by a Sri Lankan on Business Information Technology and it was published when he was just 26 years of age. The key objective of Yasas’ writing has been to educate the wider community. His second book will be out in mid 2014.

Yasas is also a fluent public speaker in both English and Sinhalese. He started his speaking career at a young age while at Ananda College as a debater, and today speaks to students at distinguished gatherings such as conferences, seminars, school events, professional events and other social gatherings. His topics include ICT, BPO, ICT/BPO Awareness, Career Options, Career Guidance, Economic Development, Business, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Youth Motivation and many more.

Yasas has travelled quite a journey leading by example and has become an exemplary role model for young people in any field. Today he is one of the most visible faces of young professionals and entrepreneurs.