Naguib Sawiris

Executive Chairman - Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E
Founder - Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.


As the Founder of Orascom Telecom Holding OTH, Mr. Sawiris has dynamically led the growth of the company, to be the leading regional Telecom player and among the best regarded Emerging Markets players in the world, culminating in the much publicized merger deal between Wind Telecom, the mother company of Orascom Telecom Holding and Vimpelcom Ltd, creating the world’s sixth largest mobile telecommunications provider by number of subscribers with operations in 20 countries serving 181 million customers in April 2011.

As part of the merger deal, Mr. Sawiris has spun off Orascom Telecom’s non-gsm operations and Egyptian-based telecom assets into Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding of which he is currently Executive Chairman.

At international and regional levels, Mr. Sawiris serves on a number of Boards, Committees and Councils including the Advisory Committee to the NYSE Board of Directors, the Supreme Council for Sciences and Technology in Egypt, and the Arab Thought Foundation. He is also the President of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce and a member of the Board of Trustees of the French University in Egypt.

On the wake of the Egyptian revolution of January 2011, Mr. Sawiris has called for the foundation of the Free Egyptians Party Al Masreyeen Al Ahrrar, the first and most dynamic liberal party to form in Egypt after the revolution.
Mr. Sawiris is also the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and civic honors, including the “Legion d’honneur” the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding services rendered to France and the prestigious “Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam” award conferred upon him in 2006 by General Pervez Musharref for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments and social sector work.
Mr. Sawiris holds a diploma of Mechanical Engineering with a Masters in Technical Administration from the Swiss Institute of Technology, ETH Switzerland and a Diploma from the German Evangelical School, Cairo, Egypt.