Egyptian business mogul Naguib Sawiris has resigned as chief executive officer of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) and has nominated his deputy CEO Tamer El-Mahdi to succeed him, the group said on Sunday. "Naguib Sawiris has submitted his resignation from his position as CEO effective 1 January, 2017," Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) said in a statement. The OTMT group operates in the fields of energy, transport and logistics, and telecom infrastructure in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as in Asian countries such as Pakistan and North Korea. El-Mahdi, who has 22 years' experience at Orascom, served previously as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OTMT group before assuming the position of the CEO of OTMT's Algerian subsidiary Djezzy, the largest mobile operator in Orascom telecom group, the group said. Over the last two years, El-Mahdi has served as deputy CEO at the OTMT group under Sawiris. "Mr. Sawiris will continue to assume all the responsibilities of his current position until the appointment of the new CEO is completed and registered with regulatory authorities," OTMT added. The OTMT group also announced that Yousef Shoukry, the member of its board of directors responsible for financial and administrative affairs, has submitted his resignation, and will be replaced by Khaled Ellaicy. On Sunday, OTMT announced that it will close its subsidiary bank in North Korea, Orabank, as a result of "increasingly complex" US sanctions on the country. OTMT's subsidiary in the country, Koryolink, will continue its telecommunications operations, the company said.
