Hatem Dowidar

Hatem Dowidar is the Group CEO of e&. He joined the Group in September 2015 as Group Chief Operating Officer and was appointed as Chief Executive Officer, International in March 2016.

Ever since he took the company's helm, Dowidar has spearheaded several ground-breaking strategic programmes that propelled the company’s business growth to new heights across the 16 markets where it operates. As the company transformed into a global technology and investment conglomerate in February 2022, and despite the ever-changing business landscape, his astute brand stewardship has been the foundation for enhancing e&’s brand equity, enhancing employee experience, and adding value to stakeholders.

Today, e&’s portfolio of brands is among the most valuable in the region standing tall in global rankings. Dowidar also has been ranked 22nd in the Global Brand Guardians Index (BGI), up from 79th place in 2022, become the first in the Brand Guardianship Index (BGI) Telecoms Ranking and the first CEO from the Middle East and Africa region to top the index.

Under his guidance, the company is also recognised as the most valuable publicly-traded company and, according to Forbes, also the most valuable listed telecommunications service provider in the GCC region. A highly skilled strategist and visionary, Dowidar has been instrumental in ushering in a new phase of strategic partnerships and key collaborations with global industry leaders such as Microsoft and Meta that will digitally empower societies.

Prior to joining the Group, Dowidar was the Group Chief of Staff for Vodafone Group based in London. He brings 32 years of experience in multinational companies and more than 25 years of these within the telecommunications industry across various leadership positions in multinational companies.

He initially joined Vodafone Egypt in 1999, served as Marketing Director (CMO) and later became the CEO of Vodafone Egypt from 2009 - 2014, where he steered the business growth with benchmark profitability in challenging and competitive environments.

Dowidar has a long track record of achievements in the various leadership positions he held at Vodafone Group and its subsidiaries, including Group Core Services Director, Chairman and CEO of Vodafone Malta, CEO of Partner Markets with partnerships covering over 45 markets and Regional Director Emerging Markets. He also has extensive Corporate Governance experience through his representation as Chairman and Board Member in several Corporate Boards within and outside the telecommunications industry.

Dowidar began his career in AEG/Deutsche Aerospace (Daimler Benz Group) in Egypt, before moving into marketing at Procter & Gamble, where he held several managerial roles.

He is currently a board member of Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily), Maroc Telecom, Etisalat Misr (Etisalat Egypt), Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL), Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry and in the board of trustees of Khalifa University.

On a global industry level, Dowidar is a member of the GSMA , United Nations and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) leadership panel. GSMA is an industry organisation representing the interests of global mobile operators as well as the broader mobile ecosystem. IGF leadership panel is a multi-stakeholder group for policies and practices relating to the Internet and technologies. Convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the IGF facilitates knowledge exchange on how to maximise Internet opportunities and address risks and challenges. Since its foundation, the IGF has identified a wide range of key issues to be addressed by the international community and has shaped policy decisions related to the Internet and technologies throughout the world. He is also the only Arab member from the MENA region on the Leadership panel, which currently consists of 15 members.

Previously, Dowidar served as a board member for Hutch Lanka, Etisalat Nigeria, Attijariwafa Bank Egypt, Barclays Bank Egypt and Vodacom Africa, Vodafone Egypt and Malta, and ElSweedy Electrometers.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Electronics Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA from the American University in Cairo.