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Smile Telecoms, a Pan-African telecoms group operating in Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has appointed Ahmad Farroukh as group CEO and Irene Charnley as deputy chairman, respectively, effective 1 June 2019

The telecom company stated that Ahmad Farroukh, currently serving as Smile’s group executive director operations, is a seasoned and experienced telecoms executive with a distinguished record of commercial and operational success.

Farroukh’s vast experience extends to executive management positions at Investcom Holdings and MTN Group (where he served as CEO of MTN Nigeria, MTN South Africa and group CEO, responsible for 19 countries) and immediately before joining Smile, as CEO of Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s second largest telecommunications operator.

Mohammed H. Sharbatly, Smile’s co-chairman and group CEO of Smile’s majority shareholder, Al Nahla Group of kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said, “The Africa telecoms market is as dynamic as it is challenging, and Ahmad is suited to lead Smile’s next exciting phase of growth, as we have transitioned from a spectrum rich upstart to the fastest, most reliable data gigabyte factory in sub-Sahara Africa.”

“We are equally delighted that Irene will continue to serve the company she founded as deputy chair, and we look forward to her ongoing strategic direction and guidance,” he added.

“The next phase for Smile will focus on delivering excellent operational returns, achieving profitability and creating value for all stakeholders, and I believe that Ahmed is best suited to lead the company forward in this regard”, commented Irene Charnley.

“Africa is experiencing explosive data growth, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the operations of one of the continent’s best 4G LTE networks at this exciting time. It has also been a revelation after over 20 years in the industry to witness the power and versatility of Smile’s proprietary technology applications platform, which was developed in-house and provides a huge competitive and cost advantage,” concluded Ahmad Farroukh.

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