Zouhair is an international business executive with 37+ years of global experience in telecom, technology, strategy, operations and Board Governance and is a Member of the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Task Force on IT & Telecom. He is Co-founder & Partner at TeamUp@NIC which runs the National Incubation Centre, incubating and training technology entrepreneurs and is now Co-Founder and General Partner at Teamup Ventures.
Zouhair was a founding team member at Mobilink (now Jazz). At Motorola UK, as Senior Director Operations, EMEA he managed the set up and rapid growth of several mobile operations. As COO of Orascom Telecom he led the launch and growth of mobile operations in Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq and rescheduling group debt of US$ 1.6 billion, divesting in Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Africa. He served on the Boards of Mobile companies in Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Egypt, UAE and Pakistan.
As CEO Mobilink he led customer growth from 1m to 31m customers, growing revenues from US$ 80 million to US$ 1.3 billion, making it one of the 5 fastest growing companies in the Asia Pacific Region and the largest private sector company in Pakistan. As Chairman of the Executive Committees of the Boards of Warid and Wateen Telecom he led the operational and financial restructuring taking both companies to profitability. As Managing Director, Mobile for Development, GSM Association, he managed a US$ 150 million technology fund investing globally in startups in FinTech, e-Health, Agri-tech, e-Learning and e-Commerce.
He has been an early stage investor, Board advisor and mentor for technology companies, including Coda Payments which provides access to digital entertainment. He exited Coda Payments at a 10x valuation in 2019.
He has served on the Board of Islamabad Stock Exchange, the Ignite Technology Fund, Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, and as Senior Advisor to the Better Than Cash Alliance, UN Capital Development Fund. He is currently a member of the Board of Regents, and Super Numerary Fellow, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University since 2009, and Non-Executive Director on the Board of Friesland Campina Engro Foods Pakistan. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and an Alumni of INSEAD, France.
If you want to coax Zouhair away from work, your best strategy would be to offer him jazz music, a good cigar and a conference call !
