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Mr. Jawad Abbassi
Founder and General
Manager
Arab Advisors Group
Mr. Abbassi has 16 years experience in the
telecommunications, Internet and datacommnications
fields. Mr. Abbassi founded the Arab Advisors Group
in 2001. As General Manager of Arab Advisors Group,
Mr. Abbassi directs the research and consulting
activities of the company in addition to steering
its marketing operations. Mr. Abbassi is also a
frequent guest speaker at conferences and seminars
related to technology, communications and media in
the Arab World.
On September 14, 2005, the Arab Jordan Investment
Bank (AJIB) and Arab Advisors Group concluded an
agreement by which AJIB buys a 55% stake in Arab
Advisors Group. The cash transaction allowed AJIB
and the Arab Advisors Group to leverage strategic
synergies to enhance the quality and scope of
services of Arab Advisors Group. Arab Advisors Group
-a private shareholding company registered in
Jordan- will now be owned by the Arab Jordan
Investment Bank (55%) and Mr. Jawad Abbassi (45%).
Before founding Arab Advisors Group, Mr. Abbassi’s
career experience includes working as a senior
telecommunications and technology consultant with
the Yankee Group in Boston - USA. Between 1998 and
2000, Mr. Abbassi was a Senior Analyst with the
communications research arm of the Economist
Intelligence Unit in Boston.
Before his work in Boston, Mr. Abbassi worked as a
corporate accounts manager for Jordan’s leading
Internet service provider (NETS). With NETS, Mr.
Abbassi led and coordinated the work needed to
establish its first international leased line with
Cyprus. Mr. Abbassi also worked for Apple Computers
dealership, in addition to being a weekly columnist
on Information Technology in Jordan’s leading
English weekly.
Languages:
Mr. Abbassi is fluent in English in addition to
being a native speaker of Arabic. Basic French.
Education:
Mr. Abbassi received a BSc in engineering from the
American University in Cairo (Egypt – 1993). Jawad
also received an academic scholarship to complete
his MSc in information systems from the London
School of Economics (United Kingdom - 1998).
Memberships and affiliations:
Member of Jordan’s Engineers Association
Member of The Arab Business Forum for Information
and Communication Technology ABFICT. Elected to the
board in 2005.
Member of the steering committee for UN ICT Task
Force of the "Wireless Internet and the Arab-World"
series.
Vice Chairman of Jordan’s information technology
association (int@j) between 2006 and 2008. Elected
to the board in 2004 and elected as Vice Chairman in
2006.
Chosen for membership in the Young Arab Leaders
Organization.
Bishop’s school (Amman), AUC (Cairo) and LSE
(London) Alumni associations |
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Mr. Samir M.
Abdulhadi
President & Chief Executive Officer
Orbit Group
Mr. Samir M. Abdulhadi has had
a long and successful professional career that has
given him experience in a wide variety of industries
and businesses.
Mr. Abdulhadi completed his education in the United
Kingdom attaining his Master’s Degree in
Petrochemicals and Hydrocarbons from the University
of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
In 1976, he returned to his native Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Abdulhadi has a 33-year career which started in
1977 when he joined the Saudi Basic Industries
Corporation (SABIC). After a ten-year tenure with
SABIC in senior positions at the corporate and joint
venture levels, Mr. Abdulhadi moved to the private
sector where he held the position of Managing
Director at the Arabian Company for Detergents (DAC),
and transformed DAC from a small detergents company
into one of the major industry players in Saudi
Arabia and Arab detergents market with significantly
expanded product range.
Mr. Abdulhadi joined the Mawarid Group as the
Managing Director of Mawarid Food Company in January
1991, and continues with the Mawarid Group to date.
In January 2002, Mr. Abdulhadi was appointed
President & CEO of Orbit Communications Company, and
is now the President & CEO of the Orbit Group of
companies.
Mr. Abdulhadi currently holds the following
functions:
-
Saudi Chemical Company (Publicly listed)
- Vice Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee
-
Meed Holding Company (Closed Joint Stock
Company)
- Chairman of the Board
-Chairman of the Executive and Compensation
Committees
-
Noorsat
- Chairman of the Board
-
Panther Media Group (Orbit Showtime Network)
- Vice Chairman of the Board
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee
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Dr.
Diar Ahmed
CEO
Asiacell
Dr. Diar Ahmed is the CEO of Asiacell, the first and
largest Iraqi telecom company. Dr. Ahmed assumed
this position in 2008 to lead a world-class team
extending over 2,000 employees. Dr. Ahmed has scored
numerous achievements as the company's CEO, most
notably of which is increasing the company's
subscribers well over 7 millions in a record time.
Under his leadership, the company also became the
sole Iraqi telecom provider with 100% national
coverage of the all 18 governorates of Iraq.
As the company's CEO, Dr. Ahmed shoulders the
responsibilities of devising and implementing
Asiacell's long-term strategies, monitoring the work
process and controlling quality.
Since joining Asiacell in 2002, Dr. Ahmed has
assumed a number of critical positions at the
company. He was first appointed as a media relations
manager and the official spokesperson for Asiacell,
for which he was greatly qualified due to his
staggering ability to communicate with the various
media and social segments in the country.
Dr. Ahmed later become the company's marketing
manager, assuming the responsibility of placing
long-term marketing and public relations strategies
to promote the company's various products and
services to the Iraqi public. Under his leadership,
the department was able to develop highly creative
strategies that had greatly benefited the company
and the Iraqi public.
Before becoming CEO, Dr. Ahmed was the official
consultant for the company's Board of Directors on
all executive, financial, developmental, quality
control, marketing and public relations issues.
Dr. Ahmed established IraqCom, a company specialized
in providing advanced IT end to end solutions in
2004 to become one of the leading players in the
field in Iraq.
Dr. Ahmed acquired MBChB in General Medicine from
Sulaymaniyah University in 1998. He also acquired a
Master's degree in clinical Pharmacology in 2005. He
is also a certified HP expert.
Dr. Ahmed believes that an organization's success
cannot be achieved without the implementation of
various mechanisms that allow for continuous
communication with all segments of society. He also
believes that life is full of positive opportunities
that any ambitious person must combine with viable
skills and expertise to secure a promising future.
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Mr. Ammar A. Akker
CEO
Paltel Group
On February 1, 2010, Mr. Ammar Aker was appointed as
the Chief Executive Officer of the Paltel Group.
Prior to assuming the position of the Group CEO, Mr.
Aker was also a member of the Executive Management
Board of the Paltel Group and led several
initiatives to create synergies and integration
among group companies. He has demonstrated
leadership in several tasks assigned to him by
management to help in business development overseas
in support of the Group’s offshore operations.
In addition to his new role, Mr. Aker is also the
current Chief Executive Officer of Jawwal, Palestine
Cellular Communications Co. Ltd. since October 2005,
where he is responsible for all aspects of the
company's operations. In his capacity as the CEO of
Jawwal, he was the driving force behind Jawwal's
efforts to maintain the largest market share,
reaching the two million subscriber threshold in
spite of the prevalence of four illegal Israeli
mobile operators in the Palestinian market and the
abundance of obstacles that continue to present
daily challenges as a result of the occupation.
Jawwal was launched in 1999 as the first mobile
operator in Palestine. The vision of Jawwal is to
maintain itself as the market leader in a society
where all Palestinians enjoy the benefits of
wireless communications. Despite the operational
obstacles facing Jawwal from its early commencement,
Jawwal’s network covers 98% of the West Bank and
Gaza, in addition to its 23 showrooms and more than
400 distributors and dealers serving customers in
every corner of the country.
Mr. Aker began his career at Jawwal in February 2000
as the Financial Controller and was promoted to
Chief Financial Officer a year later. As the first
CFO of Jawwal, Mr. Aker was responsible for
revolutionizing all back office support functions,
including accounting, finance, collections,
purchases, human resources, administrative affairs,
and carrier relations.
Prior to this, Mr. Aker worked as the Financial
Controller and Internal Audit Director at the
Palestine Telecommunications Co. (Paltel), Jawwal's
parent company, for almost a year. He also worked
for the Palestine Development and Investment Company
(PADICO), the largest investment group in Palestine.
Mr. Aker's vast experience in the field of finance
and accounting began while working for an investment
company in California, USA and a trading group
company in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Aker holds a BS degree in Accounting from
Edinburgh University of Pennsylvania, USA and an MS
degree in Accounting from Kent State University,
Ohio, USA. |
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Mr. Sam Barnett
Chief
Operating Officer and General Manager
MBC Group
General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of MBC
Group, Sam Barnett joined the company in 2002. In
his role, he has supported the Chairman and CEO,
Sheikh Waleed Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, in the
commercial restructuring and ongoing growth of the
MBC Group. MBC currently reaches 106 million viewers
and listeners each day, has 45% share of audience in
Saudi Arabia and is the largest broadcaster in the
Middle East. It is also one of the few that is
profitable.
During his time at MBC, Barnett has overseen the
outsourcing of advertising sales, the launch of new
channels and media, the development of an
organisational structure to fit a multi-platform
network and the enforcement of commercial discipline
across the operation.
Prior to joining MBC, Barnett held senior roles in
global management consulting firms Arthur Andersen
and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was responsible
for advising on privatization projects for
telecommunication companies and developing growth
strategies for government, financial and media
companies in the UK, Africa and the Middle East.
Barnett was educated at Cambridge (History and
Economics) and has an MBA from INSEAD. He is based
with his family in Dubai. |
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Mr. Thomas Brill
International Sales
Director
Orga Systems
Thomas is International Sales Director at Orga
Systems, based in Istanbul, Turkey and joined the
company more than eight years ago, responsible for
Sales and Business Development in Eastern Europe,
Central & South Asia and MENA Region. As one of the
key drivers of the idea of convergent billing, he
achieved critical milestones for Orga Systems in the
last years.
His focus is the customer and their demands for
different markets. Customer satisfaction, simplicity
and efficiency, combined with a long term view, is
the most important factor to provide solutions,
which meet the customers’ requirements. He strongly
believes and follows the mission of a single billing
and charging system for all subscribers, independent
of the technology and payment method.
He has been working for 14 years in Telecoms and has
extensive experience in Strategic Planning and
Marketing and Sales. Among other things he
established Marketing and Sales for a calling card
provider who offered low cost long distance
telephony, Corporate Sales for MVNO, business plan
for MVNO formation with Venture Capital. He has been
living and working most of his business career
abroad, in different countries and has experiences
in other industries and markets. |
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Mr. Ross Cormack
CEO
Nawras
Ross Cormack was appointed Nawras CEO in June 2004.
Following an extremely fast build out, Nawras
launched to great acclaim in March the following
year, going on to successfully achieve more than 47%
market share with over 1.7 million customers by
August 2009.
Highly praised for its pleasingly different customer
service, Nawras has redefined and simplified the
whole customer experience including what is bought
and where, as well as how to get help and how to
pay.
In 2007 Nawras launched the first 3G network in the
Sultanate of Oman and in November 2008, the Nawras
consortium won the Sultanate’s second fixed license
after a highly competitive bidding process. Nawras
is now building the latest generation fibre optic
backbone and WiMAX wireless access networks across
the country to deliver Broadband telecommunications
and Internet access, offering innovative, cutting
edge IP based media and communication services.
Nawras is also building its own international
gateway to offer international voice and data
services.
Nawras has received many awards including most
recently, Customer Service Provider of the Year from
CommsMEA, Middle East Call Centre of the Year from
INSIGHTS and Award for Brand Leadership at the
Global Awards for Brand Excellence. Previously
Nawras was named ‘Middle East Mobile Operator of the
Year’ by CommsMEA, received ‘Middle East Business
Achievement Award for Corporate Social
Responsibility’ from Leaders and global recognition
through the Judges’ Award ‘Above and Beyond the Call
of Duty’ at the World BSS Awards. Nawras received
the title of ‘Best Telecom Brand Oman’ from Business
Today magazine for the third year running in 2009
and Ross was named ‘Telecommunication Man of the
Year 2009’ at the Pan Arab Web Awards with the
company’s website winning at the 2009 Oman Web
Awards for the fifth year running.
Seconded to Nawras from Qtel, which he joined in May
2003 as Executive Director Wireless Services, Ross
brought over 20 years of international
telecommunications experience including mobile
start-ups and operations. Earlier he was CEO and
founder of Singapore based Virgin Mobile Asia, a US
billion dollar start-up joint venture between
Singtel and Richard Branson's Virgin Group and
Asia's first international MVNO.
Previously, he was Managing Director of Hong Kong
CSL, the market leader in one of the world's most
competitive and crowded mobile markets with six
operators. He was also a member of the Chief
Executive Committee of Hongkong Telecom.
Other roles have included Managing Director of
AirTouch in Italy, Managing Director Asia of Cable &
Wireless Mobile based in Singapore and Regional
Director for Cable & Wireless Mobile in Europe based
in London. In his time Ross has shareholder managed
16 mobile operators, been on the board of six and
taken the CEO/MD role for four operators across
Europe, Middle East and South East Asia. |
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Mr. Bahjat
ElDarwiche
Partner
Booz
Bahjat El-Darwiche is a Partner with Booz & Company
and a leadership member of the Communications &
Technology Practice in the Middle East. Mr. El-Darwiche
has fourteen years of strategy and business
experience in the telecommunications sector acquired
through various engagements in the Middle East,
Europe, North America and Asia. Mr. El-Darwiche
advises governments, regulatory authorities and
telecom operators and has led engagements in the
areas of telecom sector liberalization and growth
strategy development, policy making and regulatory
management, business development and strategic
investments, corporate and business planning, and
privatization and restructuring. Bahjat holds a
state engineering diploma from the Ecole
Polytechnique in France and a MS degree in
Telecommunications from the Ecole Nationale
Supérieure des Telecommunications in Paris. |
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Mr. Jeremy Foster
Marketing Director
Ericsson
Jeremy Foster is a veteran of the Telecoms industry
with over 13 years experience across sales and
marketing as well as solution design roles. As
Marketing Director Jeremy is responsible for all
marketing initiatives in the ME region for Ericsson
Communications. As a key contributor to strategy,
Jeremy is also responsible for engaging proactively
with regulators and government and regularly meets
many TRA's to understand their priorities and also
share knowledge from the region and beyond. At the
Arab Advisors conference in Amman Jordan, 7-8 June
Jeremy will moderate the convergence panel on the
first day, bringing together several key
stakeholders and highlighting their insights as to
the opportunities and threats following this
phenomenon. Following this, Jeremy will also
moderate the regulator panel on the second day as we
look to balance the demands of consumers eating up
more and more band width and operators who need to
run a profitable business delivering to these
consumers. |
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Mr. Osama Ghoul
Managing Partner
devoteam
Osama Ghoul is the Founder and Managing Partner of
Devoteam Middle East, a part of the Devoteam Group.
An entrepreneur with an impeccable record of driving
companies to success, Ghoul has senior management
experience in a range of international companies
such as FLAG Telecom, Bell Atlantic and Ericsson.
A noted leader and consultant on strategic
operational and marketing for the ICT industry,
Ghoul is an expert of the issues and trends
affecting the ICT markets in the Middle East.
As the Managing Partner at Devoteam Middle East,
Ghoul has built an impressive customer base, some
the names include major telecom operators such as
Saudi Telecom, Mobily, Atheeb, ITC & Bayyanat,
government entities such as the Commission for
Information Technology and Communications, the
Ministry for Communications and Information
Technology in Saudi & Jordan, and the Saline Water
Conversion Corporation, and some major banks
including Riyadh Bank, National Commercial Bank.
With one of the largest networks in the Middle East,
Devoteam Middle East has become the partner of
choice for the telecommunications and IT sectors.
This success can be attributed to Devoteam
Entrepreneurial spirit, Specialized focus and
Collaborative approach with its customers. |
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Mr. Krishna Gopal
Corporate Head
Tech Mahindra
Krishna Gopal is a mechanical engineering graduate
from VJTI (1981) in Mumbai, INDIA and has a Masters
in Marketing from SPJIMR (1983), Mumbai (http://www.spjimr.org).
He carries a rich experience of over 23 years
primarily in marketing and sales across diverse
industries like office equipment, consumer durables,
chemicals, retail and software services. He has been
with Tech Mahindra Ltd since 1999 and currently
heads the Middle East, Africa and SAARC regions as
Vice President. Krishna’s prior employment includes
leading Indian conglomerates like Godrej and Boyce
(http://www.godrej.com/), Asian Paints (http://www.asianpaints.com/)
and Satyam (http://www.sifycorp.com/). His work
tenure also includes a year of experience at Saudi
Arabia in retail operations.
At Godrej he was part of the management team that
established the IT and Office Automation business.
Krishna was amongst the initial members of the start
up team at SIFY, India’s first private Internet
service provider.
Besides actively pursuing his career he also
undertakes teaching assignments on a part-time basis
at MBA schools in Mumbai.
He has participated as a speaker on several forums
in India such as NASSCOM, CII etc and has also
conducted workshops on IT strategy on behalf of
these organizations. |
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Dr. Nasser Jabari
Director of Research and Consulting
Arab Advisors Group
Dr Ja’bari holds a Ph.D. degree in management
cybernetics from England. He possesses around ten
years of experience in the telecom industry. He
worked at the strategic planning and performance
department at Saudi Telecom (STC) for five years
where he was responsible for helping the different
sectors at STC to put it strategic and annual
business plans and tracking their performance. He
also was a leading member in the team which led the
implementation of balanced scorecard (BSC) at STC.
Dr Ja’bari joined Umniah, the third GSM operator in
Jordan, right after its grant of the telecom license
and undertook several assignments at the company. He
was a marketing research and regulatory affairs
manager responsible for all market research
activities (pre and post-launch) as well as putting
replies to the regulator consultations and ensure
that the replies are in line with the company’s
strategic intention. Later on, Nasser was requested
to head the business development unit in pursuit for
telecom opportunities outside Jordan. He put a bid
on behalf of the company for the 6th GSM license in
Bangladesh. He was also part of the team which was
investigating the 3rd GSM license in Yemen where he
did extensive market due diligence. He also carried
out extensive due diligence on the telecom setting
in Iraqi Kurdistan.
After the sale of Umniah, Dr Ja’bari joined Neu
Venture Groups upon the request of its owner (the
previous managing partner of Umniah). Dr Ja’bari was
the director of business development where he
attempted to obtain telecom opportunities in the
following markets: Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Cote
d’Ivoire among others. Nasser obtained an individual
license for Neu (now Dama Max) which later on was
used in the lease of the fibre optic network from
NIPCO.
In addition to the above, Dr Ja’bari carried out
some consultancy projects in Jordan. The last
project was an asset valuation for a wireless
operator which was completed in Jan 2010.
Dr Ja’bari worked in academia for over 5 years where
he was a professor of management. He is currently
the treasurer of the Jordanian association for
spinal cord injuries care (JASCIC) the first of its
kind in the Middle East. |
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Dr. Abdel
Malik Al Jaber
CEO
Zain Jordan
Dr Abdel Malik Al Jaber comes to Zain with a wealth
of experience and a long record of achievements both
locally and regionally. He was appointed CEO of Zain
Levant in July 2009 and CEO of Zain Jordan in August
2009.
Prior to his new post at Zain he was appointed Vice
Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Paltel Group in
2003 during which he was able to restructure the
company towards increased profits and sustained
innovation and social responsibility. He increased
the company’s profits from USD$ 15 million in 2003
to USD$ 100 million in 2005. Additionally, during
his tenor, the Paltel Group became the first company
in the country to pioneer the practice of Corporate
Social Responsibility introducing Sustainability
Practice and Reporting as per the GRI Standards and
later on creating the first Corporate Foundation in
the country.
In private sector in Palestine, Dr. Al Jaber is the
Chairman of the Golden Wheat Mills Company, Chairman
of the Board of Wasel Logistics, and a Founder of Al
Rafah Bank, the first Mirco-Finance Bank in the
region.
In 2005, Dr. Al Jaber helped found VTEL Holdings, a
UAE based company with USD$ 1 billion in capital
comprised of high net worth investors from Palestine
and the Arab World. VTEL’s business objectives were
to obtain licenses to operate ICT projects
worldwide; in CSR countries, Africa, Central and
Latin America including the Caribbean. Today the
company has operations in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia,
Iraq, Kurdistan, Jordan and Burundi in Africa. He is
also a member of the Board of Cairo Amman Bank in
Jordan, and is a member of its Audit Committee as
well, he is a Member of the Executive Committee at
Ayla Jordan, and a Member of the Executive Committee
for Astra Group Jordan, which is considered as one
of the most important investment holdings in the
Kingdom with investments in: Tourism, Insurance,
Real Estate, and Agriculture.
He is a current member of the Arab Business Council
and the World Economic Forum, The Arab Technology
Forum, Member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO),
Founder of the Young Arab Leaders Chapter in
Palestine, and today serves as a regional Board
Member of the YAL Organization in Dubai with
Chapters in Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
Dr. Al Jaber is a graduate of Jordan University of
Science and Technology, McGill University - Canada,
North Western University- Kellogg School of Business
Administration, USA, and International School of
Management, Paris. He holds a DBA, MBA as well as an
BEng and MSC in Engineering. He is a recipient of
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum
“Best Arab Manager Award for Excellence in
Management” for the year 2001, as the leading
business executive in Palestine |
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Mrs. Nayla Khawam
CEO
Jordan Telecom Group - Orange Jordan
Ms. Nayla Khawam is the Chief Executive Officer of
Jordan Telecom Group. Before holding this position,
she was the Territorial Director for Ile de France
(Paris region) in charge of commercial and technical
departments for Mass Market and Business Clients.
Before that, Ms. Khawam was Head of Customer
Services for landline, mobile and Internet for the
whole France Telecom Group in France. Earlier, Ms.
Khawam was a member of the Executive Board in Orange
France and Head of Customer Services for mobile
phones. Previously, she was the Senior Vice
President in charge of the resellers Distribution
Network for the French territory at France Telecom
and prior to that held the positions of the Human
Resources Director for the Paris Region and Regional
Director in the North of France.
Ms. Khawam also worked as a forecast manager in
charge of building econometric models for the
Telecom Industry, as a consultant in BIPE (Bureau
d’Informations et de Prévisions Economiques) and as
a product manager in the Peugeot marketing
department.
She actively took part in negotiations which led to
the signature of “the Contrat de Plan” with the
French Government in 1994
Ms. Khawam holds a degree in statistics & Economics
from ENSAE in Paris (National Institute of
Statistics and Economic Administration), and in
Mathematics from the Université de Paris VI. |
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Mr. Loya Al Malaieka
CEO
ITISALUNA ABR AL-IRAQ
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1969, Mr. Almalaieka has
been in the international telecom business for some
17 years which have given him extensive experience
in such vital area as investment evaluation,
feasibility assessment, and program development,
especially in areas of challenging work and security
conditions. His motto for success under such
conditions is to produce sustainable quality
services through cross functional teamwork. The
scope of his involvement in the Iraqi telecom
market, both as Country Manager for Lucent
Technologies and founder and CEO of Barqtel
Communications (Iraq) has given him deep knowledge
of the telecom prospects in this difficult, but
extremely promising, part of the world. He is
constantly driven by a strong belief in the telecom
role in socio-cultural betterment and economic
development and in the importance of quality service
which, while always is a factor in business and
market competition, should never fall short from
being a moral commitment to consumers and society at
large. Hence his proposal to fellow telecom
executives to create a mechanism of coordination in
the Iraqi telecom industry which, while respecting
legitimate business competition, seeks to maintain
constructive cooperation not only amongst
private–sector companies, but also between these
companies and government authorities.
He has benefitted from his experience in such
telecom development and competence –building
programs as the Telecommunication Training Centre
which he set up and managed in Erbil, Kurdistan, as
well as his work with CONCERT MANAGEMET, (a British
Telecom and AT&T Joint Venture) for strategic
alliance programme and planning, and with LUCENT
TECHNOLOGIES as Network Engineer, International
Business Development Manager and Global Alliance
Team Manager, which brought him considerable
recognition and several awards. |
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Mr. Yousef H
Mugharbil
President of Rotana Digital
Entertainment
ROTANA Media Group
Graduated in 1988 from the University of Denver in
Colorado, USA majoring in Electrical Engineering.
With over 20 years of international & regional
experience starting in 1988 working for Fortune 500
companies which included StorageTek (USA), AT&T Bell
Laboratories (USA), Lucent Technologies (USA, EMEA)
and joining Etisalat-UAE for three and a half years
upon leaving Lucent Technologies in November 2002;
while for the past three years working with Rotana,
the world’s largest Arabic media company in the
capacity of President for Digital Media & New
Entertainment.
Initially engaged in engineering designing
high-speed Integrated Circuits (ICs) developing one
of the world’s fastest data archival systems at
StorageTek. Later joining AT&T Bell Laboratories as
a Member of Technical Staff working on communication
circuits in the Advanced Technology laboratory and
later on, joining Lucent Technologies (due to
company split) in the Global Commercial Markets and
subsequently in the Optical Networking Group.
Internationally, the work assignments included
working in Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the
UAE engaging with key customers and global telecom
operators. Departed from Lucent Technologies in
November 2002, with the position of Director for
Technical & Market Development responsible for the
Optical Networking Group activities in the MEA
region overseeing region strategy, market & business
development and offer development, to take on an
Executive position at Etisalat. At Etisalat engaged
in leading the development and implementation of the
corporation’s overall Corporate Strategy overseeing
the Group’s domestic & international strategies
reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer.
In March 2006, accepted a leading Executive position
with Rotana Entertainment Group to oversee the
global convergence of Media & Telecom and assume the
responsibility of transitioning the company into the
digital world and setting the overall strategy for
the group across the entire digital domain value
channels including Digital Interactive TV, Online,
Mobile and New Media. Currently holding the position
of President of Rotana Digital Entertainment.
A seasoned senior leader with a proven track record
of with long experience in working effectively in a
multi-cultural environment, having had the
experience to work and engage with clients in
different regions including North America, Europe,
Middle East, Africa and Asia. |
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Mr. Mohamed Elnawawy
Vice
President for Corporate Strategy
Telecom Egypt
In May 2009 Mohamed was appointed as Vice President
for Corporate Strategy (CSO) for TE. Before that and
since November 2006 he held the position of VP,
International, Wholesale and Regulatory Affairs. He
joined the Telecom Egypt Group in November 2001 as
the Chairman and Managing Director of TE Data, SAE
which is the TE subsidiary responsible for the TE
Group’s retail IP transit and managed data services.
Previously, in Jan 1992 Mohamed co-founded InTouch
Communications Services, SAE a local ISP in Egypt
where he resided as Chairman and Managing Director
till April 2000. After that for 18 months, Mohamed
consulted for the National Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority.
Mohamed holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a
Master of Laws (LLM) |
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Mr. Steven Hall
CEO
CNBC Arabiya
Steven Hall, a seasoned broadcast executive, has
extensive experience in journalism, commercial
development, branding and marketing, having been at
the helm of a wide range of media enterprises in
Europe and the Middle East. He also possesses a
depth of understanding of the Middle East region,
having worked in Arabic television for many years
with MBC News and with Abu Dhabi TV's News Centre
being involved with the planning and start up of the
operation as Head of Production.
Steve was appointed CEO of CNBC Arabiya in February,
2008, developing a new vision for the channel
coinciding with its 5th anniversary year.
Identifying a need to consolidate CNBC Arabiya’s
position as the market leader in business television
while significantly enhancing the channel’s
relevance and reach, Steve devised and implemented a
new vision for CNBC Arabiya, driving forward theme
driven stock market coverage, widening the channel’s
demographic and audience appeal through heightened
interaction between on-air talent, expert guests and
enhancing bureaux input across the programme
platforms.
Staging a major re-launch in November, 2008, CNBC
Arabiya’s programming was revitalized with the
addition of 12 new programmes, including two major
new anchor shows, Al Bousaleh and Al Haseelah as
well as programming focusing on women business
leaders, green business, Islamic finance, private
equity, and personal finance.
CNBC Arabiya significantly upgraded its web presence
in May, 2009 by launching a true financial portal (cnbcarabia.com)
to add complementarity and reinforcement of its
broadcast product. 2010 will see further
enhancements in new media services across the region
further adding value to the broadcast and web
products.
Mr. Hall's educational background includes degrees
form Oxford University
(M. Phil.) and California Lutheran University (BA) |
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Dr. Ahmad Hiasat
Telecom expert / consultant
Dr. Ahmad Hiasat, has been the Chairman of the Board
and CEO of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission
(TRC) of Jordan since March 19, 2006 until January
26, 2010. He is a staunch advocate of TRC’s vision
to create an advanced environment for ICT and Postal
services in Jordan, which is efficient, competitive
and provides access to all beneficiaries. Dr. Hiasat
supports transparency and impartiality in dealings
with all stakeholders and believes that these are
essential qualities found in all of the TRC’s
activities. Prior to heading-up the TRC, Dr. Hiasat
held the position of Dean of the King Abdullah II
School of Electrical Engineering - Princess Sumaya
University for Technology (PSUT). Dr. Hiasat joined
PSUT in 1996, where his early work was as a faculty
member in the Engineering school, being involved in
teaching and research in topics related to new
technologies. In addition, he worked as Part-Time
Technology-Consultant to the Minister/Ministry of
Education of Jordan for the "Education Reform for
Knowledge Economy" (ERfKE) project (2000-2005),
where he worked with many international agencies and
technology companies on the strategic planning and
implementation of the ERfKE project. Dr. Hiasat
progressed in academic standing, and currently holds
the rank of “Full Professor”. His work has been
widely published and he has authored or co-authored
over 30 papers in the ICT field. These papers have
been published in prestigious international
scientific journals such as IEEE Transactions & IEE
Proceedings. Furthermore, he has played an active
role in several specialized international
conferences, seminars and workshops on ICT related
issues. Ahmad Hiasat started his career as a senior
communications engineer with the Royal Jordanian Air
Force from 1985 to 1993. He was awarded the "Abdel
Hameed Showman Award" for Young Arab Researchers in
Engineering Sciences in the Arab World in 1999, the
"Oakland University Certificate of Merit" Rochester,
MI, USA in 1995, and the "King Hussein Award" for
Outstanding Academic Achievements in 1984. Dr.
Hiasat holds a Ph. D. in Systems Engineering from
Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA; an M. Sc. in
Communications Engineering; and a B.Sc. in
Electrical Engineering from the University of
Jordan. |
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Mr. Ihab Hinnawi
Chief Executive Officer
Umniah
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HE
Minister of ICT Mr. Marwan Juma
Marwan Juma is currently holding the position of
Minister of Information and Communications
Technology. Prior to this position he was the Chief
Executive Officer of Xpress Telecommunications, one
of Jordan’s leading mobile operators and the first
Arab company to introduce the iDEN technology in the
region which combines the abilities of ordinary
mobile phones with the instantaneous Direct Connect
(walkie-talkie) service. Juma is also the founder
and Chairman of Sama for Integreated Systems, better
known as dot.jo, one of the country’s leading web
development houses.
Juma was the outgoing Chief Executive Officer of
Batelco Jordan, the country’s second fixed line
operator and the leading data communication
provider. In addition, Marwan was the Chairman of
the local chapter of the Young Arab Leaders
Organization, the region’s leading youth NGO. He
also serves on several prominent boards including
the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development,
the Jordan Education Initiative, the King Abdullah
Award for Excellence in Government Performance and
Transparency. Juma served on the “National Agenda’s”
Royal Steering Committee entrusted with developing
the country’s strategy for the coming ten years.
Marwan Juma was also reelected as the Chairman of
INTAJ, Jordan’s Information Technology Association
in 2009, and a founding contributor to Jordan’s
national initiative for establishing Jordan’s IT
Industry, known as the “REACH Initiative”. The REACH
Initiative is a five-year action plan to advance
Jordan’s nascent IT sector, and strengthen its
position to compete in local, regional, and global
markets.
Holder of a Master in Management degree from North
Carolina State University in the United States, and
two Bachelor degrees in Business Management and
Economics, Marwan has been an active player in
Jordan’s Information Technology sector since 1990.
Upon completing his studies, he joined Ideal Group,
(the Apple Computer and Compaq distributor in
Jordan), and moved up the ranks to become Vice
President. In 1995, he took over as the General
Manager of NETS, Jordan’s first e-mail and second
Internet Service Provider. Six years later, NETS,
and a second data provider, Firstnet, and Bahrain
Telecom, a regional leading telecom provider
completed the first IT merger in Jordan and formed
Batelco Jordan.
An outspoken character, Marwan has lobbied long and
hard towards the establishment of a world-class
telecom infrastructure in Jordan, and has been an
ardent supporter for increased private-public
partnerships to further enhance and accelerate the
country’s modernization and economic development. |
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Dr. Ibrahim A. Kadi
Senior
Advisor
Communications & IT Commission (CITC)
Prof. Ibrahim Kadi is Senior Advisor at the
Communication & Information Technology Commission (CITC),
the ICT regulatory authority in Saudi Arabia. He has
over 30 years of experience in academic,
professional, industrial and regulatory fields. His
areas of expertise include Communication
engineering, Knowledge Economy, Information
Security, and Socio-economic Impact of Technology.
He was a Professor of Communications at King Saud
University (1984-2004). He served as the ITU
Representative to the Arab States and Head of the
ITU Arab Regional Office (2002-2003). Prof. Kadi was
Vice President for Engineering and R&D of Advanced
Electronics Company (1991-1994) and served as an
Executive Consultant (1994-2004). Prof. Kadi
currently serves as an independent Member of the
Board Risk Management Committee at the Saudi Stock
Exchange Co. (Tadawul), He is a member of the
Advisory Board for Academic Accreditation, of KSU
College Engineering. Prof. Kadi performed
consultancy services to government agencies, private
sector and international organizations.
Prof. Kadi holds a Ph. D. from Stanford University
(1984), an M.Sc. from the University of Michigan
(1984), and B.Sc. from Riyadh University (1978), all
in Electrical Engineering.
Prof. Kadi has published over a 120 scientific
papers, general-interest and literary works, and
spoke at numerous national and international
conferences. He is a member of the Saudi Computer
Society, International Association for Cryptologic
Research, Saudi Association for Mathematical
Sciences, and Saudi Economics Association. He is a
Senior Member of the IEEE. |
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Mr. Peter
Kaliaropoulos
CEO
Batelco
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Mr. Hakam Kanafani
Chief
Business Development and Synergy Office
Oger Telecom
Hakam Kanafani is a University Trustee Scholar and
holds Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He graduated from the
University of Maryland, college Park with a B.A. and
a B.Sc.. Kanafani holds an MBA with a 4.0 GPA and
post graduate work in Economics. He continued his
Executive Education Harvard Business School
(financial Analysis and Valuation).
Mr. Kanafani is the Chief Business Development and
Synergy Officer for Oger Telecom (over 45m million
subscribers under management). He also represents
Oger Telecom as a Member of the Board of Directors
for South Africa’s GSM operator “Cell-C”, Turkey’s
leading broadband provider “TT Net”, Innova Systems,
ASSIST Inc. and ARGELA Solutions in Turkey and USA.
Upon graduation, Kanafani joined the Information
Technology team in NASA, Goddard Space Flight,
Maryland. He was then named as the COO for United
Auto Technologies, Orange County, California.
Kanafani then moved to the Middle East as the
Business Development Director for Egypt’s oldest
running private holding company “MM Sons
Conglomerate” (established 1895). He spearheaded the
conglomerate’s efforts to establish successful,
rapidly growing ICT enterprises including Egypt’s
first GSM distribution and sales network and Egypt’s
first satellite Internet provider.
Kanafani was then recruited to become CEO of JAWWAL,
Palestine’s first private cellular network. He was
then promoted to the holding company level as PalTel
Group’s COO and led the Group’s in strategy,
acquisition and financial consolidation.
Mr. Kanafani is a founding member of the Dubai based
Young Arab Leaders and heads the business
development committee for the Cairo based Arab
Business Forum for Information and Communication
Technology. He is also a Young Global Leader, an
organization within the World Economic Forum in
Geneva, Switzerland. Kanafani wrote several papers
and research material covering the fields of
Information Technology Communications and
International Management. He was featured in the
Independent, Forbes magazine and other periodicals.
During his college days, Kanafani was the President
of the Organization of Arab Students and was on the
Maryland Water-polo team. Kanafani is a fan of Ahly
Football Club in Cairo and is married to Fatenn
Mostafa. He is a proud dad of; Marwan, Ahmad and
Jenine. |
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Mr. Mohammad Omran
Chairman
Etisalat
Mohammed Omran, was reelected Chairman of Etisalat
in 2008 having previously served as Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer – a position he attained in
2005.
He also serves as the Chairman of Thuraya, one of
the world’s leading, satellite, geo-mobile
communication systems with coverage spanning
approximately two thirds of the planet, a position
he has held since 1997.
Mohammad Omran joined Etisalat in 1977, one year
after it was formed. He achieved his first senior
position as the Area Manager in Ras Al Khaimah in
1982. He was then appointed Deputy General Manager
for Etisalat in 1984 and became Etisalat’s Senior
Executive Vice President in 1999. He was later named
the company’s Chief Executive Officer in 2004.
Under his leadership, Etisalat has been named best
telecommunications company in the Middle East five
times in the last three years and was named ‘Best
Intenational Carrier’ at the 2008 World
Communications Awards. Mr Omran is well-known as one
of the most influential figures in the
telecommunications industry in Asia, the Middle East
and Africa and has received awards for his
contribution to the sector at the Abu Dhabi Economic
Forum, Telecom World Middle East Awards and Comms
MEA Awards.
Mr. Omran received an Engineering Degree in
Electronics and Communications from Cairo
University, Egypt, in June 1977.
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Mr. Sami Smeirat
VP
Orange Jordan, CEO Jordan Data Communication Company
Ltd
Mr. Smeirat is the Vice President of Orange
Enterprise and CEO JDC LTD. He has held this
position since 2007. In 2003, he was the Chief
Executive Officer of Wanadoo until it was re-branded
to Orange internet. He also led the exclusive
partnership with Equant as their distributor in
Jordan, and the re-branding of Global One to Wanadoo.
Prior to that, he was the co-founder of Cyberia
Jordan in 2001, in which he worked as the deputy CEO
and Chief Commercial Officer; the Corporate Sales
Manager at Global One since 1996, before moving to
manage Consumer and Corporate Sales from 1999; and
an Assistant of Teaching and Research at the
University of Jordan for two years. Mr. Smeirat
holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the
University of Jordan, a MSc in Electrical
Engineering and an MBA from NYIT (Jordan). |
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Mr. Qusai Qaryouti
Business Development
Manager
ESKADENIA Software
Mr Qaryouti has an extensive experience in the
Telecommunications and Information Technology
fields.
The past eight years have been invested in
technical, sales and business development positions
at ESKADENIA Software, with special focus on the
area of telecommunications.
Work responsibilities at ESKADENIA started with
Software Development and matured into Marketing,
Sales and Business Development strategic
responsibilities.
Mr Qaryouti has spoken at a number of telecom events
in the Gulf and North Africa. |
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Mr. Santino Saguto
Managing Director
Value Partners Dubai
Santino joined Value Partners in July 2004 as
Partner and responsible for the company’s operations
across Italy, Greece and the Middle East and Africa
region. In April 2008, Santino was handed the
responsibility of setting up and running the
operations of the Dubai office which opened in mid
2008. His experience in international management
consulting services with leading telecommunications
and media companies has been instrumental to Value
Partners in establishing its presence in the region.
Prior to joining Value Partners, Santino was the
Vice President of the Communications and High tech
Global Industry Group at A.T. Kearney in Milan and
prior to that he was Senior Principal at Booz Allen
& Hamilton. He has also worked for several
international organizations including Telecom Italia
Group (Italtel), Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble,
Harvard Smithsonian Institute and has started his
own consulting company. In addition, Santino has
specialized industry experience across areas such as
fixed and mobile telecom, media, technology,
regulatory issues and sports. His recent work has
been focused on digital convergence and the
development of new technology platforms, including
IPTV, 3G, online, DVB-H. Some other areas in which
he has gained extensive knowledge include
organization restructuring; strategic business
transformation, marketing and new services;
regulatory issues and alliance development. His
extensive international experience results from
having worked in more than 30 countries across
Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Santino holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of
Management and a degree in Electronic Engineering
from University of Palermo. He is married with a
daughter. |
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Dr. Kamal S.
Shehadi
Chairman
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority Republic of
Lebanon
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Mrs. Majd Shweikeh
VP Orange Jordan, CEO Petra Jordanian Mobile
Telecommunication Company Ltd
Mrs. Shweikeh is the Vice President of Orange Mobile
and CEO PJMTC Ltd. She has held this position since
January 2006. Mrs. Shweikeh is also a Board Member
of the Social Security Corporation Investment Unit,
and a member of the International Women Forum and
the Young President's Association.
Prior to that, she was the Chief Financial Officer
and member of the Operating Committee since 2000;
Finance Manager at DHL, the international carrier
service, since 1992; Project Accountant for
budgeting and project planning at the American
International Contractor Inc. (AICI) from 1988 to
1992; and an Auditor with Arthur Anderson. Mrs. Majd
Shweikeh holds a first class Honors BSc in Finance
from Yarmouk University, and she received the
Certified Management Accountant certification from
the USA. |
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Mr. Hosam Sokkari
Head of BBC Arabic Online
BBCArabic
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Mr. Osman Sultan
CEO
DU
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Mr. Jihad (Jay)
Srage
Vice
President
Business Development – Middle East, North Africa and
Central Asia
Jihad (Jay) Srage serves as the vice president of
business development for Qualcomm’s Middle East
operations. In this role, he leads Qualcomm’s
business operations in the region and manages the
Company’s strategic relationships with regional
customers, including network operators,
infrastructure equipment providers, mobile handset
vendors and value-added service developers.
Prior to joining Qualcomm in 2008, Mr. Srage spent
more than 10 years at Texas Instruments (TI), most
recently overseeing marketing operations for TI’s
wireless terminals business unit. Mr. Srage also
co-managed TI Ventures, the company’s venture
finance fund, where he directed TI’s investments in
start-up companies focused on the wireless and
telecommunications industries. In previous roles, he
was involved in marketing and business development
for TI’s digital audio business unit.
Mr. Srage earned a Master of Business Administration
from the University of Chicago, a Master of Science
in electrical engineering from the University of
Michigan – Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Science in
electrical engineering from the American University
of Beirut. |
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Mrs. Wassila Zitoune
VP
Orange Jordan
Fixed and internet Business Unit
Mrs. Wassila Zitoune is the Vice President Orange
Internet and Fixed. She has held this position since
July 2007. She was formally responsible for
Marketing Strategic Segmentation in 1993, then as
Senior Product Leader in GSM and Paging activities
from 1995 to 1998, then as a Sales Director in
Paris. She was appointed in 2001 as the
francetelecom.com channel director until 2004 before
implementing and leading the Commercial Processes
activities in France for all distribution channels
from 2004 to 2006. She joined AMEA early 2006 as
Executive Project Manager for International Business
Development.
Mrs. Wassila Zitoune is a Civil Engineer and holds
an MBA in Marketing from HEC Business School -
France. |
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Main Conference Sponsor
2010 |
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