Technology is transforming how we live and work, making businesses more efficient and creating new opportunities. From artificial intelligence to automation, the tech industry is reshaping company operations and influencing daily life. But behind every breakthrough are visionary tech leaders who aren’t just building the future—they are defining it. These leaders go beyond coding and algorithms; they are strategists, problem-solvers, and architects of change, driving growth, improving efficiency, and unlocking new possibilities.
Yohan Liyanage, CEO of Altrium, embodies this leadership. Under his guidance, the company has driven the company’s 45% CAGR through innovation, integrity, and empowerment. By connecting Sri Lankan talent with global opportunities, Altrium excels in enterprise software, UX, and Generative AI. The company prioritizes value, reflected in 100% client retention and referrals. Yohan Liyanage fosters ownership and transparency through mentorship programs like Catalyst, Elevate, and Elite. A shift to Generative AI has led to award-winning solutions and high-profile clients. Financially disciplined with the Profit First Method, Altrium ensures stable growth and leads in CSR efforts in education, health, and sustainability. Through overcoming early challenges, Yohan Liyanage has positioned Altrium as a strategic partner, solidified by Sentiva, its AI-native HR SaaS.
Connecting Sri Lankan Talent with Global Opportunities
Altrium was founded to connect Sri Lankan talent with global opportunities. Drawing on Yohan Liyanage’s experience consulting for Fortune-listed companies and Silicon Valley startups, the company tapped into Sri Lanka’s untapped potential to deliver world-class solutions. Scaling the business while maintaining a culture of innovation and integrity posed significant challenges, but these obstacles led to valuable growth. Despite early challenges in credibility, talent attraction, and shifting perceptions of Sri Lanka as a low-cost offshore hub, Altrium overcame them with a focus on quality, social media recruitment, and university collaborations. These efforts helped the company build a strong foundation.
As a result, Altrium has achieved impressive milestones, including a sustained 45% CAGR, with solutions that have earned clients innovation awards and high-profile customers. Today, the company uses AI tools to streamline candidate selection and collaborates with clients on technology strategies, positioning itself as a true partner, not just a service provider. This shift in approach has been crucial in building Altrium’s reputation as a trusted partner, driving long-term success for clients and the organization.
The Pillars of Altrium’s Culture
Yohan Liyanage’s leadership philosophy centers on empowerment, integrity, and cultivating a culture of ownership. He believes that when individuals are entrusted with responsibility and provided the necessary resources, they naturally exceed expectations. At Altrium, core values like “Respect, One Team, No Excuses, Quality, Boldness, and Ownership” are woven into the fabric of the company. Transparent communication, leading by example, and regular feedback sessions help align personal and organizational goals. Mentorship and upskilling programs further reinforce this approach. Embracing a “fail fast, learn faster” mindset, the company fosters a safe space for bold ideas. This culture of empowerment and accountability has created a high-performance environment where every team member is motivated to contribute meaningfully.
Balancing Innovation with Financial Stability
Balancing innovation with stability requires a strategic approach to risk management and growth. At Altrium, each innovative initiative is supported by thorough research, feasibility analysis, and controlled testing to evaluate potential impacts and identify any challenges before full-scale implementation.
The company places equal importance on maintaining financial discipline:
- Profit First Method: A fixed percentage of revenue is allocated to profits, ensuring a stable and predictable operational budget.
This allows Altrium to confidently invest in new technologies, like Generative AI, while maintaining financial health. By combining market research with financial stability, Altrium ensures its innovative efforts support short-term goals and long-term success.
Nurturing Talents
At Altrium, talent development is a continuous and intentional process. Associates are encouraged to demonstrate their strengths through challenging projects and cross-functional opportunities. Performance evaluations, 360-degree feedback, and one-on-one discussions help identify potential areas for development.
Key Talent Development Programs:
- Catalyst: Focuses on technical upskilling to enhance expertise in core areas.
- Elevate: Develops soft skills, fostering emotional intelligence, communication, and leadership.
- Elite: Concentrates on etiquette and professionalism, preparing individuals for leadership roles.
Mentorship plays a key role in this process. Leaders actively mentor their teams, sharing valuable insights and fostering innovative thinking. AI-driven personal development plans provide targeted guidance, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with career goals. By combining advanced technology with personalized mentorship, Altrium accelerates growth and strengthens its organizational foundation.
Delivering Tailored Solutions for High-Scale Success
Altrium is a specialized software services company with a proven track record of partnering with high-potential startups and enterprise firms across North America. The company focuses on key technology areas where it excels, including high-scale enterprise software development, sleek user experiences, and cutting-edge Generative AI, instead of spreading itself across multiple domains. This targeted expertise allows Altrium to deliver impactful, tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of its clients.
Selective in its client partnerships, Altrium chooses only those engagements where it can add significant value, prioritizing value over revenue. This approach has led to long-lasting relationships and an impressive 100% client retention rate, with many new projects stemming from referrals by existing clients.
Altrium’s commitment to excellence is evident in its work and culture. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” for consecutive years, the company fosters a culture of empowerment, integrity, and innovation. In addition, the company is deeply committed to social responsibility through its “Together with Altrium” CSR initiatives, which focus on education, health, and the environment. The company actively supports hospitals in Sri Lanka, promotes education in rural areas, and champions sustainability through reforestation and other green initiatives.
Operational Efficiency at Scale
Altrium specializes in delivering high-scale, high-volume enterprise software solutions, seamless user experiences, and cutting-edge Generative AI technologies. The company excels at creating customized solutions that drive measurable business outcomes, with a strong focus on operational efficiency and innovation-driven growth.
Key Areas of Expertise:
| Enterprise SoftwareOptimizing complex operations, effortlessly managing billions in transactions. | User Experience: Enhancing engagement with intuitive interfaces. | Generative AI: Driving automation, innovation, and data-driven decisions. |
Building on this expertise, Altrium is developing Sentiva, an AI-native HR SaaS platform designed to streamline HR processes for hybrid and remote workplaces. By enhancing efficiency, Sentiva enables businesses to focus on their core operations. Altrium’s commitment to value-driven innovation ensures that its solutions, like Sentiva, address real market needs through scalable, impactful technology, fostering long-term success for both clients and the company.
Strategic Shift Toward Generative AI
Altrium’s growth took a major leap in 2023 when the company shifted its focus to Generative AI. Initially known for its expertise in high-scale enterprise solutions, the company laid the foundation for success through its proven track record in business-critical applications. Recognizing the potential of Generative AI, Altrium invested in upskilling engineers and hiring specialists to build its expertise in this field. This strategic pivot positioned Altrium as a trusted partner for clients seeking to leverage AI for competitive advantage. The company quickly launched successful AI initiatives, winning global innovation awards and securing high-profile customers. This success established Altrium as a leader in Generative AI, paving the way for its upcoming AI-native HR solution, Sentiva, and further accelerating its growth.
The Core of Altrium’s Success
Altrium’s sustained success is built on the principle of delivering value over volume, a philosophy that influences every decision, from client selection to project execution. The company’s commitment to specialization and a collaborative culture ensures exceptional results.
Key factors contributing to success:
- Long-term client relationships: Evidenced by 100% client retention.
- Focused expertise: Concentrating on high-scale enterprise software, UX, and Generative AI.
- Strong organizational culture: Certified as a Great Place to Work.
- Strategic financial discipline: Grounded in the Profit First Method to ensure operational stability.
These elements, combined with a commitment to adaptation and client needs, form the foundation of Altrium’s long-term success.
Heart of Altrium’s Culture Strategy
Altrium’s strength lies in its people, and its culture plays a key role in their success. The HR department was redefined as the People & Culture team to focus on nurturing the workplace, rather than just enforcing policies. Recognizing the limitations of traditional HR in remote-first and hybrid environments, particularly with a Gen-Z workforce, Altrium created a culture strategy centered on empowerment and creativity, guided by the tagline “Ingenuity, Empowered.”
To ensure the strategy’s success, Altrium leveraged its technological expertise to automate routine tasks and streamline processes, enhancing efficiency and enabling the team to focus on innovation. This combination of cultural understanding and technology is setting a new standard for people management in today’s dynamic work environment.
Staying Innovative and Competitive Through Adaptability
At Altrium, innovation and adaptability are core to the company’s culture. By focusing on areas of expertise like high-scale enterprise solutions, Generative AI, and user experience, Altrium stays competitive and delivers impactful results. The company’s forward-looking strategy is shaped by emerging technologies, client feedback, industry research, and leadership insights, ensuring alignment with market demands.
The company invests in upskilling its team through programs like Catalyst and encourages experimentation, embracing successes and lessons from failures. The use of AI and data analytics further enhances adaptability by predicting trends, optimizing processes, and providing personalized solutions. A key example is the decision to prioritize Generative AI, positioning Altrium as a leader in a rapidly evolving field.
Risk-Taking as a Catalyst for Innovation and Growth
At Altrium, risk-taking is viewed as essential for innovation and growth, approached with careful consideration. The company combines data-driven analysis and intuitive leadership to navigate uncertainties. Altrium uses structured frameworks like feasibility studies, market research, and scenario planning to assess risks, testing new opportunities through pilot programs before full-scale implementation. Financial discipline, guided by the Profit First Method, ensures operational stability and reserves for unforeseen challenges, enabling strategic exploration without compromising core operations. Altrium fosters a culture of transparency and collaboration, empowering associates to take ownership and learn from failures.
A Vision for Global Leadership and Empowerment
Looking ahead, Altrium envisions itself as a global leader in software services, specializing in high-scale product engineering across UI/UX, AI & ML, and enterprise APIs. The company’s goal is not just to expand its brand but to continuously empower the exceptional talent within its team and deliver unmatched value to its clients, creating a lasting impact on the tech landscape.
5 Powerful Business Mantra’s from Yohan Liyanage
- Empowerment Breeds Excellence: Empowering people fosters innovation and high performance at Altrium.
- Innovation with Integrity: Growth is driven by innovative solutions that align with core values.
- Quality Over Quantity: Focus on impactful, high-value projects for long-term success.
- Adapt to Lead: Embrace change and feedback to stay ahead and inspire growth.
- Financial Discipline Fuels Innovation: Balance creativity with stability to confidently invest in the future.
| Company’s Name: | Altrium |
| Headquarters: | New York |
| URL: | https://www.altrium.io/ |
| Person Name: | Yohan Liyanage |
| Designation: | CEO |
