The Qtel Group’s progress draws regional praise

The Qtel Group’s reputation for innovation and service excellence received another important boost recently, when Dr. Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, was ranked 72 out of the world’s top 500 most powerful Arab nationals in the Arabian Business Power 500.

As a member of the Qtel Group, Nawras has benefitted greatly from Dr. Nasser’s presence on the Board over the last six years during which time he has steered the high level strategy and development of Oman’s customer friendly communications provider.

Dr. Nasser’s success in the Arabian Business Power 500 was the latest in a series of industry awards and recognition for the company’s achievements in recent months.

Among only 21 Qatari nationals on the list, Dr. Nasser Marafih “heads up possibly the most dynamic telecoms firm in the Gulf today,” the report said. He was the highest ranking of all the telecom CEOs named in the list, above regional peers, reflecting the Qtel Group’s increasing industry stature.

In his eight years since taking the helm as CEO of the Qtel Group, Dr. Nasser Marafih has led the company from the position of a solid domestic carrier to a truly international telco player, with presence in 17 countries in the MENA region, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia supporting more than 74 million customers. In December 2010, Dr. Nasser was appointed to the board of Directors of the GSM Association, which represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry.

To compile the list of the Arabian Business Power 500, a team of researchers collected the initial database of names in 2010. It looks at the influence of Arabs in every sector: from the business world, media, entertainment, sports, science, arts and academia, on a global scale.