Asitha Goonewardena
Fractional Product & Transformation Leader
I help organizations bridge operational complexity and scalable digital execution — accelerating growth, modernization, and product success through product-led transformation and AI-enabled operating models.
I started in 2000 as an ERP consultant, implementing SAP and Oracle payroll/HR for large enterprises. The product instinct showed up early: I cared less about the implementations themselves than about the gap between what the platforms promised and what organisations actually got out of them.
In 2006 I joined a regional HR SaaS vendor as Product Manager. Over the next 19 years I grew into the Chief Product Owner seat, scaling the platform to 40+ countries, 50+ product areas, and 400K+ monthly active users on mobile, with AI, ERP, and analytics layered on top. I built out the team that ran it, the certification programme that taught customers to use it, and the overseas delivery centre that supported its growth.
After a stint as Senior Product Manager at a global outsourcing platform, multi-region rollouts and compliance, I'm now doing the thing I've always done best, on my own terms: embedded fractional product and transformation leadership for organisations that need executive-level product thinking without committing to a full-time hire.
Years product & transformation leadership
Countries platform rollout
Product areas shipped
MAU on PeoplesHR mobile
Countries payroll compliance (APAC, MEA)
Certifications/year via Learning Academy
What this looks like in practice.
Scaling a multi-country HR SaaS
Owned product strategy for a global HR & payroll platform across 40+ countries, balancing standardization with local regulatory and operational requirements, accelerating international adoption.
Standing up an overseas delivery centre
Established a new development centre to expand delivery capacity, strengthen execution against global product priorities, and support platform scale.
Digitalising public services
Led product strategy for digital transformation programs in Uganda and Kenya, modernising government operations and citizen-facing service delivery.