Mr Lawrence Paratz was appointed to the Board of Sri Lanka Telecom PLC as an Independent Non-Executive Director with effect from 26 May 2010. He is the Chairman of the Technology Subcommittee and a member of the Senior Tender Board and Remuneration & Nomination Committee. He serves on the Boards of e-Channelling PLC, Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd., SLT Property Management (Pvt) Ltd., SLT Campus (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka Telecom (Services) Ltd., SLT Visioncom (Pvt) Ltd., Mobit Technologies (Pvt) Ltd., and SLT Digital Info Services (Pvt) Ltd.
Mr Lawrence Paratz holds an M. Sc. (Telecommunication Systems) with Distinction and was awarded the Philips prize from Essex University and an M. Eng. Sc. from the University of Queensland.
He is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust) and an alumnus of the Stanford University Executive Development Programme. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Engineering (Honours). In 2011, he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).
Mr Paratz has more than 40 years of experience in all facets of telecommunication including mobile, fixed, broadband, satellite and international networks both domestic and international. This includes capital and infrastructure development, operations, sales, customer service and regulatory issues. As a Director and Chief Executive of Acacia Australia Pty Ltd., he was responsible for the development of an integrated proposal for the delivery of national broadband communication for Australia.
He has served as a Director of Maxis Communication Berhad, as Chairman of the Technology Committee of the Board, as a Director of Vernet Pty Ltd., a Company providing ultra high-speed Broadband to Universities and Research Establishments in Australia, and as a former Senior Executive of Telstra Corporation. He also serves on the Board of Real Thing AI Pty Ltd., an Australian high technology company with subsidiaries in the USA and UK, and Razorback Pty Ltd., a company incorporated in Victoria, Australia. He is an Advisor to major companies in the Australian Telecommunication market.
Mr Paratz has had executive responsibility for multi-billion dollar programmes and integrations including network transformations and deployments across multiple technologies, with extensive experience in international, metropolitan regional and rural communications. He previously served as a member of the Board of the Australian Government’s Internet Assistance Programme. He has been an invited speaker at the Australian Health Informatics Conference, and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
He was formerly Chairman of the On-Trac@ Peter Mac Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Programme and has been involved in a number of initiatives in e-health.