Thuraya’s shareholders elect Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar as Chairman

Thuraya Telecommunications Company has announced the election of a new chairman and the appointment of a new member on its board of directors. Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Group, joins as Thuraya’s new Chairman of the Board.  Also elected to the Board during the meeting was Dr. Daniel Ritz, Group Chief Strategy and M&A Officer of Etisalat.

In addition to his role as Group CEO of Etisalat, Julfar also serves on the board of Mobily in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he is the Chairman of the Risk Management committee, as well as on the board of Etisalat Misr and Etisalat Services Holding (ESH)

In addition to his role as Group CEO of Etisalat, Julfar also serves on the board of Mobily in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he is the Chairman of the Risk Management committee, as well as on the board of Etisalat Misr and Etisalat Services Holding (ESH).

“We are delighted to welcome both Julfar as our new Chairman and Dr. Ritz as a new Member of our Board,” said Samer Halawi, Chief Executive Officer of Thuraya. “Chairman Julfar’s leadership and wealth of telecoms experience will be invaluable in helping guide Thuraya as we continue to pursue growth in our key markets. We are also pleased to have Dr. Ritz join our board given his vast experience with strategy and business experience, especially at this time when we are looking at the next phase of development for the company.”

Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar is reportedly one of the first graduates of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Establishment for Young Business Leaders. He holds two degrees in Civil Engineering and Computer Sciences from the Gonzaga University in Washington, USA.

Dr. Daniel Ritz (Ph.D) has served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Etisalat Group since February 2012. He reports to the Group CEO and is a member of the Etisalat Group Management Committee.

Dr. Ritz is responsible for managing the Group’s strategy, business development, expansion through mergers and acquisitions and strategic project management functions. He is a board member of PTCL of Pakistan, Atlantique Telecom Holding (Ivory Coast) and has previously held senior executive posts at Swisscom.

Dr. Ritz attained his Ph.D (magna cum laude) in Business Administration and Information Management from the Hochschule St. Gallen in Switzerland.