The Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL) has officially launched the CSSL CIO Forum 2026 and unveiled the CSSL National CIO List 2025, reinforcing its ongoing commitment to advancing ICT leadership excellence and supporting the growth of Sri Lanka’s digital economy.

The initiative reflects CSSL’s continued role as the country’s leading professional ICT body, dedicated to strengthening digital capability, fostering innovation, and developing future-ready leadership across the technology sector. The CIO Forum and National CIO List are designed to provide a structured national platform that recognises, connects, and empowers Chief Information Officers who are driving digital transformation across industries.

The CIO Forum 2026 will serve as a high-level professional platform for senior ICT leaders to engage on strategic topics shaping the future of enterprise technology and national digital development. The forum will focus on key areas including artificial intelligence (AI)-driven transformation, cybersecurity resilience, cloud adoption, enterprise architecture, data governance, and digital public infrastructure development.

These areas are central to strengthening Sri Lanka’s digital economy and enhancing the competitiveness of both public and private sector organisations. As digital transformation accelerates across industries, CIOs are increasingly playing a critical role in aligning technology investments with business strategy, improving operational efficiency, and enabling innovation-led growth.

Alongside the forum, CSSL has also introduced the National CIO List, a prestigious recognition programme designed to identify and honour outstanding Chief Information Officers in Sri Lanka. The CIO List highlights individuals who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership, innovation delivery, strategic alignment, and measurable business impact through digital initiatives.

The National CIO List is based on a structured evaluation framework that assesses CIOs across multiple dimensions, including strategic leadership, innovation capability, governance maturity, digital execution, and overall contribution to organisational transformation. It is widely regarded as the most credible benchmark for ICT leadership recognition in Sri Lanka.

The launch of these initiatives further strengthens CSSL’s role in shaping the country’s ICT ecosystem and supporting the national agenda of building a strong, inclusive, and sustainable digital economy. By bringing together industry leaders, fostering collaboration, and recognising excellence, CSSL continues to contribute to the development of a robust digital leadership pipeline in Sri Lanka.

This event is sponsored by Connex Information Technologies and Altria Consulting, in collaboration with Boomi, reflecting strong engagement from both local and global technology partners. Their involvement highlights the importance of ecosystem collaboration in accelerating enterprise digital transformation and enabling innovation across sectors.

Speaking on the launch, Indika De Zoysa, Vice President of CSSL, stated that the CIO Forum and National CIO List come at a critical time for Sri Lanka as the country strengthens its digital economy ambitions.

“CIOs today are at the centre of business transformation. Their role extends beyond technology management to driving innovation, enabling competitiveness, and contributing directly to national economic development. Through the CIO Forum and the National CIO List, CSSL is creating a structured platform to recognise and strengthen this leadership.”

He further emphasised that as Sri Lanka advances its digital economy agenda, leadership in ICT will be a key enabler in improving productivity, service delivery, and global competitiveness.

Project Chair Ruvendra Gunasena highlighted that the CSSL CIO Forum 2026 is intended as a continuous professional engagement platform rather than a single event-based initiative. “The CIO Forum is designed to facilitate ongoing collaboration among senior ICT leaders, enabling them to share insights, address emerging challenges, and collectively shape the future of enterprise technology in Sri Lanka. It plays a key role in strengthening the country’s digital leadership community.”

He further added that collaboration between industry sectors is essential to addressing complex challenges such as cybersecurity risks, legacy system modernization, and digital skills development.

Project Chair Chethana Kahandugoda stated that the CSSL National CIO List 2025 plays an important role in elevating the ICT profession in Sri Lanka.

“The National CIO List sets a national benchmark for excellence in IT leadership. It recognises CIOs who are not only delivering successful digital transformation within their organisations but are also contributing to the broader development of Sri Lanka’s digital economy. This recognition helps raise professional standards and inspire future ICT leaders.”

CSSL continues to play a central role in shaping Sri Lanka’s ICT landscape by promoting professional excellence, encouraging innovation, and facilitating collaboration between industry, government, and academia. Through initiatives such as the CIO Forum and CSSL National CIO List, CSSL aims to strengthen the country’s digital leadership capacity and support the long-term growth of the digital economy.

The launch of the CSSL National CIO Forum and CSSL National CIO List marks another step in CSSL’s ongoing mission to develop a strong, future-ready ICT leadership ecosystem that will contribute to Sri Lanka’s sustainable digital transformation journey.