Yet another star has joined Align! It is Ishan Gunarathna we have the pleasure of welcoming! See below for his introduction of himself.
How it all started
15 years ago, I stepped into the world of IFS by joining IFS Sri Lanka as a Software Engineer. It was my first job leaving the University as a fresh graduate, and here I am still exploring the IFS eco-system with different roles and perspectives.
As a fresh Software Engineer, I was lucky enough to work with some of the brilliant minds in the Retail extension development team, where we build solutions to expand the capabilities of standard IFS Applications to address the specific needs of the customers operating in the Retail domain.
This is where I learnt to design sustainable solutions where we shared a ”freedom with responsibility” mindset. I had the freedom to explore new technologies, concepts and experiment with new strategies while working on customer solutions, which made me the tech enthusiast I am today.
From there onwards I wore multiple hats during my career at IFS Consulting as a Lead Engineer, Queue Manager, Tech Lead, Mentor, Service Owner and eventually a Senior Manager. I enjoyed the management aspect equally as the technical aspect, where the satisfaction you get after a successful go live of project as a tech lead, was equally rewarding for me, as it was seeing how my team members elevated overall over my years as a manager.
My passion was always to elevate individuals to their potential, which made us eventually deliver great services to our customers as a team. I was lucky enough to have some of the best leaders in the company guiding me throughout and it was never a boring journey, especially working with the Nordic counterparts.
Beyond the working desk…
Well, being a father of a 2.5 year old daughter, you can’t find much free time outside working hours. She defines how I spend those. It could be coloring Dinos with her in the activity books or cleaning the walls where she ended up drawing Dinos. You never know what it will be and that’s the exciting bit about spending time with an active kid.
Whenever I get the chance, I love to drive through scenic routes enjoying some good music, or getting engaged in home projects (possibly assisted by my daughter…).
Becoming an Aligner in the Nordics…
I am a person who have always grabbed the opportunities thrown at me rather than a person who chased for them and in this instance, we decided to move to Denmark as my wife got an opportunity to work there as a doctor.
When looking for opportunities my aim was to find a place where I am valued for “who I am” and Align was a perfect match in that perspective. Starting from the first discussion itself, I was truly inspired by Algin’s people first culture and the humble, yet world class consultants they had managed to secure within their team.
It was not a difficult choice and here I am, being a part of Align in Sweden, helping Align’s customers with their implementations and daily businesses. It’s time to unlearn some things and re-learn new domains. Looking forward to exploring the world of IFS even further from a different perspective – this time as a true Aligner!