TELECOM Egypt (TE) board of directors has announced the appointment of Tarek Tantawy as the company’s new chief executive officer. The appointment is with immediate effect.
“Since joining TE, Tarek has been a driving force in the formation of TE’s corporate culture of transparency and openness and has been central to the execution of some of the company’s biggest landmark transactions.
He has consistently demonstrated strong leadership and a keen knowledge of the telecommunications landscape, both of which instill me with enormous confidence in his ability to drive TE forward,” said Akil Beshir, Chairman of Telecom Egypt.
Mr. Tantawy has held the role of TE’s Vice President & Chief Financial Officer since 2007 and was appointed to the Board of Directors of TE effective from 12th August 2009. He has been with the company since 2002.
Following his appointment, Beshir will step down as CEO, but retain a Board position as TE’s Non-Executive Chairman. He will be involved in the company’s government relations and will continue to contribute to the formation of TE’s long term strategy.
Tantawy was excited about his appointment. “Having been with TE for over seven years, I am confident that we have several interesting opportunities to continue developing our business, at
the same time I realize that the challenges ahead of us are not insignificant, and I look forward to working alongside TE’s experienced team to build on the company’s strengths and to address these head on,” he said.
He added, “Since liberalization of the Egyptian telecommunications market we have grown in stature as a company, both in terms of the diversity of our business and in TE’s ability to adapt its offering to embrace new opportunity.
Meanwhile, TE said several candidates for the role of Vice President & Chief Financial Officer are currently being reviewed and an announcement will be made as soon as possible.
Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s incumbent telecommunications operator, started its operations in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. Then it was corporatized in 1998 to replace the former Arab Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Organization (ARENTO). The Company is the
largest provider of fixed-line services in the Middle East and Africa with 9.8 million subscribers as at 30 June 2009.
