The CEO Magazine: Tell us about some
of your greatest successes with du.
Osman: Our achievements fall into two
categories: the first comes under the umbrella
of our core telecom business and the other
is in the strategic moves we’ve made in
adjacencies. During the past few years,
we have built du to be one of the most
recognisable names among the largest telecom
brands in the region. Not only that, EITC
ranks among the top global telecom players
in terms of shareholder returns. Last year,
we successfully launched our second mobile
brand, Virgin Mobile, in the region. It follows
a completely digital approach and aims for
what we consider as the next-level
experience for millennials. In 2016, we saw
our greatest achievement in complementary
projects when we were awarded the strategic
partnership with the government-driven
Smart Dubai Platform. This has been a
positive outcome for EITC because it acts
as a springboard that enables us to move
beyond pure connectivity services.
Now, we offer fully integrated platforms with
multiple stakeholders that are propelling us
into the new world of cloud services, IoT,
data analytics, applications and cybersecurity.What are some challenges you face, not
only as a company but as an industry?
The main challenge facing the telecom
industry is making sure the usage services
we provide are monetised properly. To do
this, we need to make the necessary strategic
investments and ensure we are operating
under a sustainable financial equation. Our
market is highly disrupted, but we should not
be afraid of that or feel threatened. Instead,
we should change, altering our business
models to adapt to this new reality, while
making sure to leverage our greatest assets.
I believe, as an industry, we are definitely not
doing this as often and as fast as we should.
Altering ourselves and learning is critical
for us to advance as a business and culture.
So, we need to scale up how efficiently we
adapt to the changing environment.Half page advert
NOKIAto come“Nokia is proud to have accompanied
du since its inception back in 2007. We
are now excited to help du pioneer next
generation 5G networks and usher in the
next level of innovation under the
visionary leadership of Osman Sultan.”
Amr K El Leithy
Head of Middle East and Africa market
NokiaINNOVATE | Interview