Sami names Abukhaled as CEO

The Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami) has appointed Eng Walid Abukhaled as CEO of the company.

The decision comes following his role as Acting chief executive officer and is based on his proven ability and competence to manage the company’s business effectively during the past months.

The Board recognised Abukhaled’s nearly 30-year-long global experience in defence and military industries, during which he held several leadership positions, most prominently CEO for the Middle East at defence giant Northrop Grumman, Deputy Minister of Industrial Affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry, President and CEO of General Electric in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Chairman of the Operations Board and Director of Strategic Investments Group at BAE Systems in the UK and Saudi Arabia.

Sami’s Board wished Abukhaled success in his new role, expressing their confidence in his leadership of the company for the next stage.

Launched in May 2017, Sami is a state-owned military industries company that is mandated to develop and support the military industries in Saudi Arabia and enhance its self-sufficiency.

Mishra

APM Terminals appoints new CCO

APM Terminals Bahrain has appointed Mihir Mishra as the Chief Commercial Officer and part of the Senior Management Team. He is responsible for Business Strategy and Commercial function for APM Terminals Bahrain.

Mishra has over 16 years of experience in ports, logistics, and shipping industries, and he been part of APM Terminals since 2013. Prior to joining APM Terminals Bahrain, Mishra led the Commercial function for APM Terminals Pipavav in India which included Containerised and Non-Containerised Business (dry bulk, liquid, Ro-Ro and offshore).

In addition, he has extensive experience in operationalising Greenfield Multi Commodity Port Projects and Brownfield expansion projects, Mishra has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Master’s degree in International Business and he is an APM Terminals Magnum graduate.

Koech

Schneider Electric names new chief executive for E Africa

Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, has appointed Carol Koech as the new Chief Executive for East Africa.

A Kenyan national, Koech will lead Schneider Electric’s growth vision in the region and drive alignment in strategy and process across its Building, Datacenter, Industry and Access to Energy business portfolio.

Koech joined Schneider Electric in 2018 where she has helped transform the Building’s Segment and the Access to Energy program in East Africa. With a career spanning over 15 years, Carol has held roles in finance, project development, engineering and commercial positions. Her career journey has seen her leading operations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Koech was a Senior Regional Sales Manager at GE and led efforts to grow the brand’s sales and profitability through closely engaging with customers on their industrial challenges. She worked at Unilever for a period of five years. She is also a STEM champion, mentoring young ladies at work and in high schools and has participated as a mentor at YALI, Go Green City and a host of other competitions.

Soni

TPAY Mobile appoints new COO

TPAY Mobile, a leading pan Middle East and Africa (MEA) fintech focused on mobile and cross border digital payments announced the appointment of Dheeraj (Raj) Soni as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Soni brings with him decades of experience in leadership, transformation, and execution within growth focused organisations across the technology and telecoms industries. He will draw on his extensive experience as former President and Chief Commercial Officer at Docomo Digital Payments as well as Senior Vice President at Swisscom to help TPAY Mobile achieve its vision.

Sahar Salama, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TPAY Mobile, stated: “TPAY Mobile’s continued expansion into new markets, onboarding of new merchants globally and broadening of its suite of products and services has resulted in exponential growth, thereby positioning us as the leading digital merchant acquirer across MEA. I believe that Raj’s experience is of immediate value in helping drive our growth journey. Having him on board will accelerate the execution of our vision to build a homegrown global fintech leader.” 

Raj Soni added: “I am thrilled to be joining TPAY Mobile at this time. What is astounding is that TPAY Mobile has built a fully modular and scalable platform that is on track to enable financial inclusion at scale across MEA.”