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Zain chief quits group role
04 February 2010
Saad Al Barrak has resigned from his position as deputy chairman and group CEO of Zain, though he will continue to be CEO of the Saudi Arabian operation
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[Zain]
[MTC]
[Celtel]
[Saad Al Barrak]
[Kuwait]
Saad Al Barrak, head of Kuwait’s Zain, has stepped down from his position as group CEO. Al Barrak will continue to be CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia, in which Zain holds a 25% stake.
Barrak, who joined Zain in 2002, was its deputy chairman as well as CEO and led the rebranding of the company from MTC. He also managed the company’s purchase of Netherlands-based Celtel for $3.4 billion, in 2005, in order to add Zain to the list of top 10 global mobile operators by the year 2011.
Barrak negotiated for licences in countries including Saudi Arabia, where Zain had to pay $6.1 billion, to operate the third mobile company in the world’s biggest oil exporter.
The third-largest Arab telecom operator, Zain currently operates in 23 countries, serving over 70 million customers. The company’s competitors are Wataniya Telecom, owned by state-controlled Qatar Telecom, and Kuwait Telecom.
A statement by Zain said the board will convene soon to deliberate the matter. No immediate replacement has been announced. GTB