Smile Telecoms Appoints Ahmad Farroukh as New Chief Executive Officer, Irene Charnley as Deputy Chairman

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Leading broadband provider, Smile Telecoms appoints Ahmad Farroukh as new Chief Executive Officer as it makes major changes to its board.

Also newly-appointed is Ms. Irene Charnley who assumes the mantle of Deputy Chairman. These changes according to the company are set to take effect from 1 June 2019.

Ahmad Farroukh is an experienced telecoms executive, currently serving as Smile’s Group Executive Director of Operations. A certified Public Accountant (New York, USA), Farroukh holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Accounting from the Lebanese American University.

Smile Telecoms Appoints Ahmad Farroukh as New Chief Executive Officer
Ahmad Farroukh, CEO, Smile Telecoms

Prior to joining Smile, Farroukh had held management positions at Investcom Holdings and MTN Group. He had been CEO of MTN Nigeria and MTN South Africa as well as MTN Group’s Chief Operating Executive. He had also served as CEO of Mobily, Saudi Arabia’s second largest telecommunications operator.

Now as the incoming CEO, Ahmad Farroukh would bring his years of experience at the helm of affairs of telcos to Smile and, overseeing the group’s operations in Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to Smile, this appointment will mean Farroukh’s return to Nigeria where he will spend the majority of his executive time due to the country’s importance to Smile’s operations.

On the other hand, current CEO, Irene Charnley will be vacating her position to perform a more strategic role in the company as the group’s Deputy Chairman. This is after leading the company since inception (12 years ago). Here she would be using her years of experience to direct and guide the telco’s operation.

Irene-Charnley. Smile Telecoms
Irene Charnley, CEO, Smile Telecoms and to be Deputy Chairman

Speaking on Ahmad’s appointment as CEO, Irene Charnley, expressed her immense confidence in him.

“The next phase for Smile will focus on delivering excellent operational returns, achieving profitability and creating value for all stakeholders, and I believe that Ahmed is best suited to lead the Company forward in this regard,” said Irene said.


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