.: Batelco :.

:: Investor Relations \ Batelco Executive Team >>

Batelco Executive Team

Managing for Growth and Regional Expansion

Batelco continues to successfully grow its operations in Bahrain and across the Middle East. The Senior Leadership Team, with strong support from managers, employees and the Board, continues to deliver innovation and value at home while expanding the scale of the Group to reach new horizons.

Peter Kaliaropoulos – Group Chief Executive Officer

Peter Kaliaropoulos joined Batelco in June 2005 and has led its transformation into a regional company operating in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Egypt and India (Q4 2009). Batelco’s combined customer base in 2008 exceeded 4.3 million mobile and broadband customers with revenues over USD845m and net profit of USD 275m. Peter has over 28 years of experience in the international ICT sector. Prior to joining Batelco, he held various senior executive roles including MD SingTel Optus Business (Australia); COO/SVP StarHub (Singapore); CEO Clear (New Zealand); Director Sales & Service, BT Asia Pacific (Singapore & Australia); Director, BT Syncordia Asia Pacific; VP Sales & Marketing, Telstra (USA) and MD Mobile Sales & Distribution, Telstra (Australia). He has played a key role in the transformation and growth of a number of companies operating across multiple geographies. In his varied roles, Peter has been responsible for driving customer-centric operating cultures, development of future leaders, optimising productivity levels, implementing growth strategies, and leading M&A initiatives. He has also served as a Director on the Board of various IT&T companies in Singapore, USA, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and India.

Peter Kaliaropoulos


Gert Rieder – Chief Executive Officer Bahrain

Gert Rieder	Mr. Rieder joined Batelco in April 2009 to lead the Bahrain operation of the Batelco Group, as part of the Company’s restructure to manage the growing needs of the organisation. Prior to joining Batelco he was Senior Advisor for ENEX Finance SA, a Private Equity company based in Switzerland. Gert has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications business having begun his career in 1987 with TDC (TeleDanmark). He held various roles and executive positions within TDC including Director Residential FixNet Division, Director Business Division, Senior Vice President, Mobile Marketing and Wholesale Divisions. In 1997, he joined Sunrise Communications, a full service provider telecommunications company in Switzerland, a joint venture between TDC, BT and three Swiss partners, as Chief Commercial Officer and Member of the Executive Team. In 2001 he was promoted to COO Sunrise Mobile and member of the Executive Management Board. From 2004 until 2008 Mr. Rieder was Executive Vice President for TDC Residential and member of the Executive Team in TDC Solutions as well as Chairman of the Board in Call Center Europe. He holds an Executive MBA (INSEAD, France) plus an MBA from the business school in Aarhus, Denmark and is fluent in English, Danish and German.

Kataryna Stapleton – Chief Financial Officer – Bahrain

Mrs. Stapleton was appointed as Chief Financial Officer for the Bahrain operation in December 2007, having joined Batelco in 2006 to lead a Business transformation programme, including Group integration synergies, enhancements to customer experience, process improvement and cost leadership, aimed at driving significant operational efficiencies. Having held senior financial and operational roles at Cable & Wireless (USA & Australia), Savvis Communications (USA) and SingTel Optus (Australia), Mrs. Stapleton brings to Batelco significant telecom and change management experience. Her academic qualifications include an MBA (Melbourne Business School, Australia), Master of Financial Management (Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Australia) and other courses in strategic and entrepreneurial management from institutions such as the Harvard Club of Australia.	Kataryna Stapleton


Ebrahim Zainal - Chief Technical Officer

Ebrahim Zainal	Having joined Batelco as a trainee technician in 1970, Ebrahim achieved his BEng and CEng while combining study with work. He has held various positions including General Manager Internal Services, prior to becoming GM of Network Operations in 2000. Since then, his role has expanded to include Network Development in 2003 and Information Technology in 2008 with the task to meet the continual changes within the organisation. Currently Mr. Zainal is the driving force in Batelco’s major NGN implementation project. The infrastructure is already complete and the process to migrate Batelco’s customers to the new structure has commenced with the project due for completion by the end of 2008.

John Ford - General Manager of Wholesale & Carrier Relations

Mr. Ford worked at Batelco from 1980 to 1982 and again from 1988 to 1992, while employed by Cable & Wireless. Having left C&W, he returned to Batelco in 2001 to join the Engineering Department prior to entering the Corporate, Legal and Regulatory Affairs Department in 2004. In 2006 he moved to a new position and is now dealing with wholesale customers (Batelco competitors) in Bahrain and foreign administrations, a dynamic area of the company which has evolved significantly since the advent of competition. He has over 15 years of competitive experience both as a start-up operator, incumbent and supplier which gives him an edge as Batelco faces increasing competition from new entrants in the telecom market in Bahrain.	John Ford

Muna Al Hashemi - General Manager Consumer Division

Muna Al Hashemi	Mrs. Al Hashemi has risen through the ranks at Batelco, having joined the Company in 1994. With a Masters degree in Telecommunications and a BSc in Electronic Engineering, Mrs. Al Hashemi began her career in the Engineering Department and gained invaluable experience as she progressed through a number of divisions, including Customer Services, Accounts, Product Marketing, Product Development and Customer Marketing. The depth of knowledge of various functional units and processes that she has gained in her diverse roles has prepared her well for her current challenging task of heading up the busy Consumer Division.

Adel Daylami – General Manager Products & Services Division

Mr. Daylami is leading the development and product management of all existing and new services that are distributed via the retail Consumer and Enterprise channels, to the market. Since joining Batelco in 1989 he has held various roles including Head of Fixed Services, Senior Manager Business Product portfolio, Director International Operation & Business Marketing, CEO Batelco Jordan Mr. Daylami was a key player in setting up Broadband Bahrain and ICT & Network Rationalisation Strategies. Among many key achievements, he managed, launched and successfully implemented Batelco’s Internet Services from its concept stage through to establishing its current exceptional user base. Mr. Daylami holds a Master’s in Business Administration, Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing and a BSc in Electrical & Electronics Engineering.	Adel Daylami

Dr. Abdulla Khalifa Althawadi – General Manager Enterprise & Government Business

Abdulla Althawadi	Dr. Abdulla Althawadi joined Batelco as a Technical Trainee in 1989 and completed his PHD and Masters Degree while combining work and study. Abdulla has risen through the ranks at Batelco, holding various senior roles including Senior Technician and Networks & Planning Development Manager, prior to taking over the role of GM Enterprise Division. In 2007 Dr. Abdulla joined the mobile development department and in his role as Head of IP Core & NGN was heavily involved in Batelco’s next generation network programme, leading the department prior and post the NGN deployment. His comprehensive experience and knowledge gained over the years in a variety of roles qualify Dr. Abdulla well to lead the Enterprise Division to great success in the future.

Marios Michael – Group Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Michael joined Batelco in March 2009 to lead the finance organisation across the group. Previously, as Regional CFO of BT's Global Services Asia Pacific Business, since October 2005, Mr. Michael had overall financial responsibility for the region. During this time he implemented a number of key financial programmes which provided sustainable profit growth and cash generation. This included financial solutions for key accounts which resulted in revenue and margin growth as well as restructuring programmes which provided a lower cost base for the region. Prior to this Mr. Michael served as VP Strategy and operations and led the development and implementation of the overall transformation agenda for BT in Asia Pacific. This included focus on key accounts as well as an acquisition strategy to further expand the regional footprint. Furthermore, he was responsible for the delivery of a number of operational programmes that enhanced profitability in the region. Mr. Michael joined BT in 1989 and during his tenure with the group worked in a number of finance roles at senior management and director level across the UK and Asia Pacific. He also represented BT on a number of Joint venture boards in Asia Pacific and took a lead role in the development of the business in Asia Pacific.	Marios Michael

Ahmed Al Janahi – Group Board Secretary & Government Relations and Batelco Spokesman

Ahmed Aljanahi	Mr. Al Janahi supports the Board of Directors and Executive Management in shaping the development of the Batelco Group throughout the region. Successful careers in Real Estate, Industry Equipment Sales, the Hotel Industry, Finance and Aviation prepared Mr. Al Janahi well for the wide ranging responsibilities he undertook upon joining Batelco’s Corporate Affairs Department in 2003. His wealth of knowledge and his experience combined with his unmatched enthusiasm serves him well in his multi faceted role as Group Board Secretary and voice of Batelco.

Shaikh Ahmed Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa – Group General Manager Human Resources & Development

Shaikh Ahmed entered the company as Senior Manager Employee Relations in 1997. Coming from an engineering background having been an aircraft engineer, he made the transition from machines to people smoothly. From 1999 he added recruitment to his responsibilities. Being a team member in Project Get Ready in 2002 proved to be an immense learning curve for Shaikh Ahmed as issues not before applicable within the company were addressed. The experience widened his scope in the field of Human Resource Development and led to his appointment as acting GM HR in mid 2003. He became GM HR in mid 2004 and in January 2008 extended his role to include responsibility for the Batelco Group.	Ahmed Al Khalifa

Bernadette Baynie – Group General Counsel

Bernadette Baynie	Ms. Baynie was appointed as Batelco’s Group General Counsel in January 2008 having joined the Company in early 2007 as Senior Commercial Legal Counsel. Her 20 year legal career spans a spectrum of forums, ranging from large, medium and small law firms to senior in-house counsel for one of Australia’s largest companies. Ms. Baynie has a solid and sound in-house corporate counsel capability, in a wide range of areas of law that impact upon the end-to-end operations of Batelco, including product design, marketing, commercial transactions, cross boarder acquisitions, regulatory compliance and governance, operational risk, project management, company secretariat and dispute resolution. Her skills have a strong focus on commercially driven outcomes for Batelco, which are strategically aligned to the company's performance goals and values.

Saleh Tarradah – Group General Manager Strategic Initiatives

One of the company’s longest serving employees and an early builder of the company, Mr. Tarradah joined in 1969 and spent several years studying both in Bahrain and the UK. He gained his degree in electrical & electronics engineering in 1978 plus his master’s degree in Management in 1986, from UK. He has extensive experience in Telecoms, IT and Customer Services. Mr. Tarradah was involved with a number of transformation and change programmes to prepare the company for competition. He has held the positions of Engineering Manager Projects & Development, GM Residential Customer Business Unit, GM Information Systems & Business Assurance and GM Information Systems prior to his current Group role.	Saleh Tarradah

Future leaders of Batelco are being groomed through the Company’s on-going leadership programme, which uses an international system to hone the skills of employees, and mould them into senior managers and executive leaders of tomorrow.

About us

Board of Directors

Our Vision

Batelco Executive Team