Zain Bahrain restructures top management

Zain Bahrain Chairman of the Board, HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Khalifa, announces the restructuring of its senior management team in Zain Bahrain, a leading telecoms operator in the Kingdom with the appointment of Duncan Howard as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective immediately. Meanwhile, Mohammed Zainalabedin, Zain Bahrain’s General Manager takes on the new role of Managing Director.  

The Chairman of Zain Bahrain has confirmed that Mr. Duncan Howard has a proven track record and extensive experience to play a pivotal role in driving the company’s business through his new position as a CEO. He has also praised Mr. Zainalabedin for being part and parcel of the Zain Bahrain success story through his past role as a general manager; his great efforts have contributed in positioning Zain Bahrain as the leading telecom company in the Kingdom of Bahrain.  

Howard comes to Zain Bahrain from Zain Group, where he had served as Chief Commercial Officer since 2014. In his new role as CEO of Zain Bahrain, Howard will look to enhance the company’s prominent presence in the Kingdom, which has been built on a sound reputation earned for the technological innovations Zain has brought to Bahrain and support in executing the company’s ICT and digital lifestyle strategy.”  

Commenting on the management restructuring, Zain Bahrain Chairman, HE Shaikh Ahmed bin Ali Al Khalifa said, “With his deep understanding of the Zain brand, solid operational, commercial and digital innovation expertise, and a strong history of working within the telecommunications sector across the region, we are confident he will lead the company to greater achievements in the years to come.”  

Shaikh Ahmed continued, “Mr. Zainalabedin made his mark in the success of Zain Bahrain since its establishment in 2003.  With his new position as a managing director, he will certainly continue to play a pivotal role in the company and support Zain Bahrain to reach an advanced phase of growth and expansion.”  

Having joined Zain Group in 2014, Howard has been a key part of the Zain Group executive management team, focusing on commercial and operational performance across all markets. He led the Zain brand refresh and laid the foundations for the establishment of Zain Business initiative, which was rolled out across all operations.  

With more than 20 years of experience in mobile, television, and fixed telecoms across the Middle East, Europe, and North America, Howard has served in a number of senior roles with reputable telecom providers throughout his career.  Howard holds an MBA from the Open University UK, and a BA (Hons) in System Analysis from the University of West England.

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About Zain Bahrain

Zain Bahrain, a telecommunications industry innovator focused on enhancing customer experience, was awarded a mobile telecom license on 22 April 2003 and commenced commercial operations on 28 December 2003. The operation promptly placed Bahrain on the world telecom map through the introduction of many mobile technology innovations that continue to this day with nationwide high-speed 4G LTE services being offered through the Kingdom’s most advanced mobile network along with an innovation complete end-to-end eShop offering customers the opportunity to buy products and services online anywhere, anytime. The operator was recognized as the network with the highest fixed wireless broadband download speeds in the Kingdom in 2018 by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA). Zain Bahrain, listed on the Bahrain Bourse (Ticker: ZAINBH), and considered a stakeholder in and contributor to Bahrain’s future prosperity, as outlined in the leadership’s Vision 2030.  Empowering employees remains the heart of Zain Bahrain’s strategy; the operator achieved a Bahrainization of close to 95% in 2018.  It has demonstrated its commitment to the community by relaunching its youth empower program, under the new name ‘Zain Youth. Zain Bahrain is part of is part of Zain Group, a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa, which provides mobile voice and data services to over 50 million active customers as of 30 September 2019. With a commercial presence in eight countries, Zain operates in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages ‘touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5% stake in ‘INWI’, through a joint venture.