Rasika Karunatilake, Managing Director of Sysco LABS, joined a high-profile panel at Shift25—the annual flagship leadership summit organized by AICPA & CIMA. The panel, titled “Borderless Ambitions: Trade, Tariffs and Regional Power,” brought together leaders from diverse industries to discuss how Sri Lanka can position itself in a rapidly globalizing digital economy.
Speaking alongside Talal Rafi (Economist, Director at EY) and Shehani Gomes (GM – Business Intelligence & Growth, MAS), Rasika emphasized the urgency for Sri Lanka to leverage its talent, agility and niche capabilities to scale IT exports and attract long-term investment saying, “Sri Lanka has already proven its global relevance in the IT/BPM space, progressing toward becoming a destination for high-value, knowledge-driven services. Sustaining this evolution requires the inflow of more investment into the country to develop our technology ecosystem.”
He also stressed that the country’s differentiator lies not in competing at scale, but in offering deep expertise and agile delivery. “What Sri Lanka offers is engineering and delivery excellence, creative problem-solving and a culture of adaptability. That’s our edge—and we need to double down on it.”
On the topic of talent, Rasika reiterated the importance of bridging the gap between academia and industry saying; “We need more than just graduates—we need professionals who are future-ready. That means aligning university curricula with industry needs and expanding access to coding bootcamps, certifications and digital skills programs.”
Closing his remarks, Rasika called for a holistic national digital strategy, drawing from the success of countries like Estonia and Singapore. “This isn’t just about exports—it’s about becoming a digital-first economy. That means encouraging digital thinking starting from schools and universities – to policy and governance. Also, we need to think about making IP protection easier, encouraging R&D and investing in AI and emerging tech.”
The Shift25 Summit brought together over 300 business leaders, entrepreneurs and policymakers to explore topics at the intersection of technology, transformation and long-term value creation.
