Virgin Mobile appoints Saudi Arabia CEO
Appointments

Virgin Mobile appoints Saudi Arabia CEO

Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa (VMMEA) has appointed Fouad Halawi as chief executive of its operations in Saudi Arabia.

Halawi leaves his position as group managing director at Lycamobile Australia for the new role, and brings with him 15 years’ executive management experience in the telecoms industry across Europe, Australia and the US.

“Virgin Mobile is a fantastic brand and I was delighted to be chosen to head up the business in Saudi Arabia,” Halawi said. “It is a dynamic telecoms market with excellent potential for growth.”

Virgin Mobile recently announced that it serves more than one million subscribers in Saudi Arabia and last year VMMEA revealed ambitious plans to further strengthen its position in the region by launching in more countries.

It plans to serve more than 10 million subscribers over the next five years and has forecast Saudi Arabia as its largest market.

“I am looking forward to working with the team to execute our growth plan for year two,” Halawi said. “Our mandate is to make mobile better for our members across the kingdom.”

Halawi replaces former CEO Karim Benkirane.

Virgin Mobile launched MVNO services in Saudi Arabia in September 2014 and later in December 2015, Lebara followed suit.

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