Dubai: Abu Dhabi-based telecom operator etisalat Group on Monday appointed Saleh Adbullah Al Abdouli as its new chief executive of the company.
With the restructuring, Al Abdouli will now manage the company’s international operations as well as the local UAE operations. He was previously the CEO of etisalat UAE.
Al Abdouli replaced the acting CEO Hatem Dowidar, who was named after Ahmad Julfar resigned for personal reasons on March 9.
He started his career with etisalat as an engineer for mobile systems planning in 1992 and became the CEO of etisalat UAE in 2012.
Al Abdouli is also one of the first Emirati engineers to have earned a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications Technology in 1992 from the University of Colorado, US, after completing his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the same university.
In addition to his newly appointed position, Al Abdouli, with over 25 years of experience, is also the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Executive Committee for etisalat Misr, Chairman of etisalat Services Holding Company and Chairman of Thuraya. He was most recently appointed as etisalat’s representative in Mobily’s Board of Directors.
Sukhdev Singh, associate vice-president at market research and analysis services provider AMRB, told Gulf News that etisalat has done extremely well in the UAE market and the group is in the right direction by naming the right guy for the right post.
“For etisalat, Saudi Arabia has been a bit of challenge in the short term but since they are geographically well expanded and lot of new product and services, I don’t see a challenge in the medium to long term for the group,” he said.
Growth for the group is to come from “developing markets”, particularly Africa, and within the Gulf, the organic growth will come from its existing services, particularly data services.
“As we prepare to enter our fifth decade as a company, we are well-placed to meet the challenges of the fast-evolving telecommunication sector and move forward with confidence to provide greater value for our shareholders and meet the aspirations of the millions of our customers across our international footprint,” Al Abdouli said in an emailed statement.
The company’s shareholders have backed the board’s recommendation on Sunday to pay 80 fils per share dividend for 2015 despite the group reporting a 3.95 per cent fall in full-year profit to Dh8.26 billion compared to Dh8.60 billion in 2014 due to slower regional economic growth.
Etisalat operates in 18 markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa with 167 million subscribers in 2015.
Al Abdouli said etisalat is well-placed to deliver the advanced and innovative solutions that will be the key to generating future growth and profitability.
“We are an enabler of this dynamic future but to be able to benefit from it we need to be at the forefront of progress today. Only by investing today we can deliver the future growth that will ensure our continued prosperity,” he said.
