Thushan Wijesinghe

About Thushan Wijesinghe

Gates Foundation link: highly accomplished and seasoned data analytics executive, Thushan is passionate about leveraging data to unlock business success. With a proven track record of leading high-performing teams—including data scientists, business analysts, data engineers, and financial analysts—he excels at identifying opportunities and crafting data-driven solutions that deliver measurable impact.Thushan brings extensive leadership experience across key domains such as Data Science, Data Engineering, Credit Risk, Finance, Customer Care, Technology and B2B operations. He is known for developing and inspiring high-performing teams through exceptional people skills and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. Thushan is adept at utilizing advanced statistical techniques and data science to tackle complex business challenges and deliver actionable insights.As a transformative leader, Thushan has successfully led large-scale data transformation initiatives, seamlessly integrating comprehensive change management strategies to drive significant organizational outcomes. Recognized as a strategic thinker and engaging leader, he consistently delivers results by optimizing business processes, enhancing operational efficiencies, and uncovering insights that fuel growth. With a keen focus on resource optimization, Thushan is committed to driving transformative solutions that position organizations for sustained success.Accomplishments:• Played an integral role in designing, implementing, reviewing, and optimizing the $5 billion+ Frontline Incentive programs governing performance incentives for 52k+ employees across 8 channels.• Developed a Center of Excellence for Data, Analytics, and Modeling with responsibility for Data Science, Risk Modeling, BI, and Data within a credit risk organization by recruiting the best-fit talent.• Accomplished 8% growth in B2B segment, resulting in $200 million+ incremental revenue, and EBITDA by $80 million over 4 years.• Led the Credit Risk team to introduce Snowflake at T-Mobile, making it the first could-native Data Warehousing solution (DWH). • Authentic People leader - scored 94% across 9 dimensions in 2021 Year-end Employee survey at T-Mobile.

Experience

1. Director, Enterprise Data Solutions & Analytics

   Gates Foundation

   Jul 2023 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   Thushan leads Enterprise Data & Analytics at the Gates Foundation and is a member of the CIO Leadership Team. His team provides critical support to Program Strategy Teams, Operations, and Global Country Offices. In his role, Thushan oversees several key domains, including Knowledge Management & Insights, AI, Data Science, Business Intelligence, Health Data Platforms, Data Engineering, and Data Infrastructure.Thushan is the lead for driving Foundation\'s Data Strategy and Data enablement. In addition he is also involved in Gates Foundation\'s key initiatives in Sri Lanka.

Education

• University of Moratuwa

  BS, Chemical Engineering

• Carnegie Mellon University - Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy

  Chief Data and AI Officer (CDAIO) Certificate

• University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business

  MSBA, Business Analytics

• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

  Associate Member (ACMA), Management Accounting

• University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences

  MA, Applied Economics (Econometrics)

• CIM | The Chartered Institute of Marketing

  Post-graduate Diploma, Marketing

Skills

• Web Analytics
• Machine Learning
• Customer Loyalty
• Segmentation
• Credit Risk
• Leadership
• Competitive Analysis
• Statistical Modeling
• Data Integration
• Strategic Planning
• Financial Planning
• Telecommunications
• Analysis
• Predictive Analytics
• Financial Analysis
• Team Leadership
• Python
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Demand Reduction
• Business Planning
• Customer Analysis
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Business Analysis
• Predictive Modeling
• R
• Business Process Improvement
• Sql
• Forecasting
• Management
• Financial Services
• Crm
• Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Analytical Skills
• Financial Modeling
• Strategy
• E-Commerce
• Channel Optimization
• B2b
• Sas