Batelco Announces Appointment of New Executives

Mobilk - Batelco Group (Ticker: BATELCO), the international telecommunications Group with operations across 14 countries, is pleased to announce the appointment of new Chief Financial Officers for Batelco Group and Batelco Bahrain. 

 Taking over the role of Group CFO is Faisal Qamhiyah, who has held the position as Chief Financial Officer for Batelco Bahrain operations since January 2013. Prior to joining the Batelco Bahrain team Mr. Qamhiyah held the position of CFO of Batelco’s Jordan subsidiary, Umniah. He brings to the table a wealth of knowledge with unique mixes of commercial and financial hands-on proven experience coupled with passion toward the telecom industry. 

Previously he had served with distinction as advisor to the Board of Directors, CEO, CFO, COO and as Marketable Securities Fund Manager in various companies. Among his earlier roles are the positions of Finance Director / CFO, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer at  Zain Jordan. His experience also includes the role of Group Internal Auditor EDGO Group and Investments Director / Capital Markets at Ern Capital.

Mr. Qamhiyah  holds a BA in Economics & Accounting from Yarmouk University Jordan, USA and a CPA from Delaware USA. He also completed the Executive Development Programme (EDP) at Kellogg School of Management, Chicago USA and various executive leadership programmes at prestigious institutes including the Harvard Business School and London Business School. Faisal is Co-founder and Board of Directors member of Jordan Association of Management Accountants (JAMA).

At Batelco Bahrain, Sameer Altaf, has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Altaf joined Batelco in 2008 to lead the financial control function for Batelco Group and Bahrain, and has held a number of key roles within the financial division including most recently, the post of Group Financial Controller.  

During his professional career, Mr. Altaf has held senior financial and risk management roles in Orascom Telecom and Kinnevik AB  with a focus on telecoms, media and technology. He is a qualified chartered accountant having trained with PricewaterhouseCoopers and additionally, he has completed several Leadership and Management courses from institutions such as Harvard and MIT. 

Batelco Chairman Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa said that on behalf of the Board of Directors and executive management at Batelco, he would like to wish Mr. Qamhiyah and Mr. Altaf well as they take on their challenging new roles. 

“Both gentlemen have proven records of achievement having served in key senior financial roles within the Batelco Group for some time. We are confident that they have the necessary credentials to meet the stringent criteria required for their respective roles,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the executive search for a new Group CEO is ongoing with the process well underway and proceeding according to plan. The Supervisory Committee of the Board of Directors, consisting of Deputy Chairman Mr. Murad Ali Murad, Executive Committee Chairman Mr. Abdul Razak Al Qassim and Director Mr. Waleed Ahmed AlKhaja, continues to assume the role of the Group Chief Executive Officer on a temporary basis until such time as the new CEO is appointed.