Bahrain's Batelco replaces Kaliaropoulous as group CEO

Bahrain’s Batelco replaces Kaliaropoulous as group CEO

Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa named new group CEO; Current group CEO Peter Kaliaropoulos named CEO Strategic Assignments; Batelco, Kingdom in talks to buy Zain Saudi stake.

August 28, 2011 12:55 by Reuters

Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) replaced its long-time Group Chief Executive Officer Peter Kaliaropoulos with its deputy chairman of the board, the state-owned telco said in a statement on Sunday.

Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al Khalifa will assume his new role as group CEO on October 1, becoming the first Bahraini national to hold the top position at Batelco.

Al Khalifa was the former chief executive of Bahrain’s Social Insurance Organization (SIO) from 2008 before taking on the lead position at the telecom firm, the statement said.

Kaliaropoulos, who held the group chief executive post since 2005, has been appointed chief executive of strategic assignments, responsible for the company’s acquisitions strategy.

Batelco and Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding are currently undergoing a due diligence process for a $950 million stake buy in telecom carrier Zain Saudi . The process was expected to be completed by end August.

Batelco board director Murad Ali Murad will take over the position of deputy chairman for the company’s board, the statement added.

In July, Batelco posted an 11.2 percent drop in second-quarter net profit, its fifth straight quarterly decline, as customer costs in its home market rose amid stiffening competition. (Reporting by Shaheen Pasha, Editing by Dinesh Nair)