Education and Career Life Hatem Galal Dowidar, who is currently the CEO of Vodafone Egypt S.A.E, was born in 1969. He has a B.Sc. in Telecommunications and Electronics Engineering from Cairo University and an MBA as well as participating in senior management executive programs in IMD and LBS. His father, Galal Dowidar, chairman of the Egyptian Travel Writers Association, is a former editor of Al Akhbar newspaper, and his mother, Yousria, is head of publicity with EgyptAir. He has a sister, Hanan, who lives in Switzerland and he is married to Dalia. They have three daughters, Zeina, Hana and the newborn Farida. Hatem Dowidar first started working in 1991 with AEG, the electrical parts division of Daimler Benz, as a sales engineer. In 1993 he obtained a postgraduate diploma in industrial engineering from the American University in Cairo. Between July 1994 and September 1999 he occupied various management posts with Procter and Gamble in Egypt and in 1999 also obtained a second postgraduate diploma from the American University in Cairo, this time in management. He then joined Vodafone Egypt where he spent the next four and a half years as marketing director but also found time to obtain an MBA in marketing from the American University in Cairo. In March, 2004, he moved to Oxford, UK, to Vodafone's head office to fill a vacancy as global director, Voice Propositions, following the setting up of the group marketing function the year before. In his leisure time, Hatem enjoys travelling, hiking, scuba diving and reading. His Achievements Mr. Hatem Dowidar has been a member of the BOA of MC AIESEC in Egypt for 4 years. He took up the role of Vice President in the new BOD and is thus responsible for AIESEC activities in front of the Egyptian government. Through Hatem's network AIESEC in Egypt has been able to raise a lot of traineeships and partners such as Egypt Air, P&G and Vodafone. Hatem was a member of AIESEC Alumni International, and is a co-founder of the new alumni club of AIESEC in Egypt. He has been contributing to successfully reuniting alumni for three years now. His experience in AIESEC has provided him with national and international alumni network, and he has been able to keep the network alive. Mr. Hatem Dowidar currently works as CEO for Vodafone, which in itself is one of the biggest social contributors in Egypt. Through leading (at a relatively young age) the Marketing department of Vodafone Hatem has participated in supporting health care for the under-privileged, educational institutions, developing sports in Egypt and growing NGOs. Vodafone Egypt has become one of the largest companies in Egypt setting a model in business success as it grew in five years of operation to be a multi billion pounds business. Vodafone has sponsored AIESEC in Egypt for the last 3 years as a major partner. Hatem was a founding member of Rotary Club of Kasr ElNil and the president there in 1998-1999. He has been involved in several projects in the areas of health and education. Hatem was also a founding member of “Fat'het Khair", a micro loan charity organization for sustainable development of micro enterprises.
In1998, Vodafone Egypt (Ex Misrfone Telecommunication Company/Click GSM) entered the Egyptian telecom market as the second operator; a consortium between Vodafone international, Air Touch, and local/ international partners. In 1999, Vodafone Group acquired Air Touch share and in 2002, it acquired International Partner VIVENDI France share. In January 2002, Click GSM was rebranded to Vodafone Egypt. Since 2007, Vodafone Egypt's shareholders structure consisted of Vodafone Group with 54.93%; Telecom Egypt with 44.94% and a minority free float of 0.13%. 2006 witnessed another important step as Vodafone Egypt launched its off-shore operations under the name of Vodafone International Services. This subsidiary is dedicated to outsourcing business processes and IT services for Vodafone operators and beyond. Both its Business Process Outsourcing & Information Technology Outsourcing business units have seen success year after year with over 2,200 employees who collectively speak ten different languages to provide world class customer and technical support for customers in 80 countries. To complement its wide set of voice and mobile internet services, Vodafone Egypt completed a full acquisition of Raya Telecom in June 2007; a step that complemented Vodafone's mobile communications capabilities with Raya's expertise in fixed-line data communication and corporate solutions. Expanding its service offerings further, Vodafone acquired Sarmady in 2008; a company established in 2001 and has grown ever since to dominate some of Egypt's most popular internet content and services, both fixed and mobile. Sarmady became the digital arm delivering Vodafone internet experience in Egypt; putting Vodafone Egypt on the forefront of data innovation in the market.
Vodafone Egypt has grown over the years to become the leading mobile operator in Egypt, not only in revenue share but also to become the number 1 mobile operator in Egypt with the largest customer base. Vodafone serves more than 36.3 million customers (December 2011) offering the most advanced technology for its customers, the best working environment for its 6,500 employees and the strongest corporate responsibility initiatives for the community. To further expand the impact of Vodafone's corporate responsibility initiatives, Vodafone Egypt Foundation was established in 2003, as a corporate foundation donor, supporting NGOs and civil society organizations to implement developmental project in the areas of health and education for children, community development, the usage of mobile technology for development and access to communications.
