Mohammad Omran Al Shamsi ( ar, محمد عمران الشامسي) is an Emirati businessperson and former CEO and chairman of

Etisalat Etisalat by e& is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscri ...

. He also served as chairman of the UAE's satellite telephony provider,

Thuraya Thuraya ( ar, الثريا, Gulf Arabic pron.: ; from the Arabic name for the constellation of the Pleiades, ''Thurayya'') is a United Arab Emirates-based regional mobile-satellite service (MSS) provider. The company operates two geosynchronous ...

. He was also the previous chancellor and chairman of the

Higher Colleges of Technology The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT; ar, ) was established in 1988 and is the largest applied, higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). During the 2019–2020 academic year, there were 14,246 female and 6,744 male stu ...

as well as a member of the board of directors of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat).

Career

Al Shamsi joined the UAE's national telecommunications provider Etisalat in 1977, a year after its formation when it was still named Emirtel, having acquired a degree in Electronics and Communications that year from

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. In his biography, ''Stations, The Journey of Career and Life'', he recounts his progress from trainee engineer to become chairman and CEO of the company, which today provides services to 154 million subscribers in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Three of the group’s brands, Etisalat, Maroc Telecom and Mobily, are among the top 150 most valuable telecom brands in the world. Appointed as chairman in 2005, Al Shamsi retired from Etisalat in 2012. Etisalat was named the most powerful company in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

Middle East at the time. In 1997 he was appointed as chairman of Thuraya, the UAE-based satellite telephony and data provider, which provides telecommunications coverage in more than 161 countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The company launched its first Boeing-built satellite in 2000. Named as a member of the board of trustees of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) in the UAE in 2005, Al Shamsi was made President of the Higher Colleges in 2013, an appointment that carried Ministerial rank. With 22,000 students and 17 campuses nationwide, HCT is the largest educational institution in the UAE. At the same time, Al Shamsi was also appointed as a member of the board of directors of Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, named by the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings as the top university in the UAE. Al Shamsi's first act in office at HCT was to reshuffle the management of the organisation, placing Emirati nationals in key management posts. In 2017, Al Shamsi opened HCT to students of all nationalities residing in the UAE, citing education for all as a core principle. He also serves on the boards of the Ras Al Khaimah University for Medical and Health Sciences, the

American University of Ras Al Khaimah The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) is a higher education university located in the city of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab of Emirates. Founded in 2009, AURAK is an independent not for profit public university, accredited to UAE Minist ...

and RAK Bank - the national bank of

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

, the philanthropic organisation,

Emirates Foundation Emirates Foundation is a charity set up by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Emirates Foundation (EF) was launched in April 2005 as an initiative from General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy ...

, and the Ras Al Khaimah Properties Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omran Alshamsi, Mohammad Living people Emirati chief executives Year of birth missing (living people) Cairo University alumni