MTC's Dr. Al Barrak chosen as Middle East CEO of the year

Dr. Saad Al Barrak, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), has been recognized as the Middle East’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) CEO of the year. Six other prominent CEOs from the government, Industry, service and finance sectors were also honoured at an exclusive awards ceremony held recently at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. The 2005 Middle East CEO of the Year Awards ceremony, which is organized by Datamatix Group, was attended by His Highness Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General, Department of Information - Dubai, Ambassador Dennis Ross, Former Special Middle East Coordinator and Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, in addition to members of the Royal Family and senior business and government executives from the region. In the Information and Communication Technologies category, Dr. Al Barrak was acknowledged for his visionary leadership and his pivotal role expanding the growth and reach of ICT companies in general and the mobile telecommunications sector in particular as well as his contribution to the development of the region’s human capital. Dr. Al Barrak said: “Being chosen as the Middle East CEO of the year is a privilege and an honour. Winning this coveted accolade would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of each and every MTC employee and partner.” An international judging panel of experts, analysts and leading executives from regional and global government and business organizations, such as the World Bank was responsible for evaluating over 1,800 CEOs from across the region, to ensure that they met the individual criteria for each award category. Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, known for his ambitious “3 x 3 x 3” transformation strategy, which was launched in 2003 to turn the company into a leading regional wireless service, said: “MTC is an organisation driven by corporate excellence, and it is this culture that has enabled us to become one of the leading mobile telecom companies in the region. Our ambition is to transcend the boundaries of the Middle East and put our services on a global footing.”