Indara appoints its first CTO

Indara, which manages mobile network towers, has appointed its first ever chief technology officer as one of three changes under an executive leadership restructure.

The company, which operates a mix of 4700 towers and poles used to host antennas, has appointed Milinda Wijesuriya to the newly created CTO role.

Until now, he has been sales director, a role he had held since early 2022.

Wijesuriya revealed the appointment in a LinkedIn post and a spokesperson for Indara confirmed it to iTnews.

“As the industry continues to evolve, technology, innovation and strong partnerships will play an increasingly important role in delivering the digital infrastructure communities and businesses," he wrote.

A spokesperson for Indara said that the digital infrastructure provider’s decision to establish the CTO role was driven by a new growth strategy for FY27 and beyond set by chief executive Emilio Romeo.

Romeo, who started the role in February, promoted Wijesuriya with a view to developing the company’s technology roadmap to meet new demands.

Responsibility for CTO functions at Indara, which formed in 2022 from the merger of Australian Tower Network and Axicom, had previously been distributed across several leaders, the spokesperson said.

“Since establishing as Indara in 2022, the company has had a highly experienced leadership team with the responsibility of technology sitting across multiple business domains/ functions," the spokesperson said.

"This is the first time Indara has a dedicated CTO role as the focus on technology continues to be part of our wider growth strategy."

Prior to joining Indara, Wijesuriya’s longest continuous tenure was with NBN Co where he spent nearly a decade, including five years as a program director in the network builder’s IT and transformation portfolio.

Before that he spent nearly eight years with Nokia, rising from a systems engineering role to a managerial position in its Asia-Pacific radio access networks division.

His appointment is part of a wider executive leadership restructure at Indara, with the company appointing its former interim chief executive officer Michael Ferguson as chief operating officer and Aleksandar Zlatkovic as chief financial officer.

Romeo said that the new leadership structure was a response to changes in customer demand driven by technology.

“As we enter a period of rapid technology evolution, increasing customer expectations, and growth opportunities, this structure ensures we have the right leadership in place to guide Indara forward. Milinda, Michael, and Aleksandar each bring the experience and focus needed to strengthen our performance and support our continuing growth,” he said.