Dr Bassam Hannoun has been appointed as chief executive officer (CEO) for Wataniya Telecom, a subsidiary of Qtel Group. He will assume his new role from September 1, it was announced yesterday.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani: chairman, Qtel Group and Dr Bassam Hannoun: CEO, Wataniya Telecom
Acting CEO Abdulaziz Fakhroo resumes his role as Deputy CEO of Wataniya Telecom (National Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC). “The board is grateful for his management throughout this transitional period,” a spokesman said.
Dr Hannoun was most recently the CEO of Wataniya Mobile Palestine, where he was responsible for the successful initial public offering (IPO) and growth of operations. Previously he was CEO of one of Jordan’s leading WiMAX operators, wi-tribe Jordan, a subsidiary of Qtel Group.
In addition to more than 20 years telecom industry experience in Europe and the Middle East, Dr Hannoun has a PhD in telecommunications engineering and holds a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on strategic marketing.
Qtel Group chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani said: “Dr Hannoun’s knowledge and loyalty to the group is strong and deep. In Palestine, he and his team have taken our business from a start-up to a real market challenger, delivering world-class service to customers in an incredibly challenging environment. The board is entrusting an internal, proven leader to head Wataniya Kuwait’s team.”
Dr Hannoun said: “I feel privileged to be selected to lead Wataniya’s team just as it has made superlative customer experience the centre of its strategy. I’m sure we will all be very busy in the months to come with improved services and offers for our
customers.”
Qtel owns 52.5% of NMTC Kuwait, which incorporates operations in Kuwait, Tunisia, Algeria, Palestine, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the
Maldives.