Etisalat CEO, Saleh Al Abdooli, is to step down from the Emirati telco after 28 years at the company.
Citing personal reasons Al Abdooli will be replaced by Hatem Dowidar in the capacity of acting CEO for the Group, promoted from his current role of CEO international.
“Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Etisalat Group, and the members of the board directors thanked Al Abdooli for the efforts he made and the accomplishments achieved for Etisalat Group during his tenure as Group CEO and his 28 years of service to the company,” a statement read.
With 29 years of multinational corporate experience, Dowidar joined Etisalat in September 2015 as group COO and was appointed CEO international the following year.
His 23-year telecommunications career has seen him work for Vodafone Group in London as group chief of staff, as well as CMO and CEO of Vodafone Egypt, group core services director, CEO of Vodafone Malta, CEO of partner markets and regional director emerging markets.
He has also worked for Hutch Sri Lanka, Maroc Telecom and Etisalat Misr (Egypt) and currently sits on Etisalat’s subsidiaries’ boards in Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan.
Dowidar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Electronics Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the American University in Cairo.
Al Abdooli was named Etisalat CEO in April 2012, having spent five years as CEO of Etisalat Misr, one of the largest companies in the group portfolio.
Under his leadership the company posted consolidated net revenues of AED 52.2 billion and consolidated net profit of AED 8.7 billion for 2019 and in May 2018 Etisalat launched the first commercial 5G wireless network in the UAE, making it the first telco in the MENA region to achieve the milestone.
