New Etisalat CEO Saleh Al Abdooli Starts Today

Etisalat continues to lead in innovation in the UAE
Etisalat UAE welcomes Saleh Al Abdooli, who starts today his responsibilities as the new CEO of the corporation. Al Abdooli previously served as CEO of Etisalat Misr for five years. He brings his extensive experience to continue Etisalat UAE’s journey as pioneers of innovative telecom services for more than three decades.
Expressing his enthusiasm to begin his work, Al Abdooli said, “Etisalat UAE contributes the biggest volume of the group’s revenues. I am honoured and excited to come back home to use my experience and expertise to serve my home country and take Etisalat UAE to new levels of performance and growth. My priorities at this stage is to boost the creative capabilities of our employees and increase their productivity. Etisalat has all the necessary elements for success – financial resources, human capital and strong, wide network coverage. What is needed now is to channelize the corporation’s potential in the right direction to help maintain its leadership position and to relentlessly deliver unique communications services to our customers.”
“Etisalat UAE is witnessing a new age full of achievements and changes. It is a challenging era marked with dynamic, continuous developments in the communications industry. Customers and their needs are evolving and to provide them with a world-class experience, so must our competencies in providing innovative technologies and services”, he added.
Commenting on Etisalat UAE’s contributions to the country, Al Abdooli highlighted, “Etisalat UAE has a long-standing record of great many achievements on a national level. These accomplishments have not only helped boost the country’s economic standing, but have also contributed in developing the nation’s local work force and talent. Today the number of UAE nationals employed in Etisalat’s foreign operations exceeds 70 UAE citizens”
Al Abdooli served as the CEO of Etisalat Misr for the last five years. Etisalat Misr is one of the largest, most successful companies in the Etisalat Group portfolio. His leadership years in the Egyptian market have been a great success story in the telecom industry and have earned him a great reputation and several international awards as a leader of one of the best third entrants in mobile operation worldwide. He has achieved remarkable results in the mature Egyptian market that had been dominated for about a decade by a duopoly of two giant operators, Vodafone and Orange (Mobinil).
Before his work in Egypt, Al Abdooli held several executive positions at Etisalat UAE. He served as the general manager of network development where he was responsible for all network development related projects, drafting the communications strategy as well as operating and maintaining the traditional and 3G networks. He also played a prominent role in paving the way for the company’s international expansions. He was the chairman of Etisalat’s technical committees responsible for designing and developing mobile networks for telcos in many countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Saleh Al Abdooli is a graduate of University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, where he established a brilliant academic record and got his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and his Master’s degree in Telecommunications with honor: GPA 3.99/4.0.