Naguib Sawiris
Encyclopedia
Naguib Onsi Sawiris is an Egyptian
businessman and politician. He was executive chairman of the telecommunications companies Wind Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding
(OTH) before turning to politics in May 2011. OTH launched the first mobile operator in Egypt, Mobinil
in 1998.
OTH has 20,000 employees and manages 11 GSM operators around the globe. In the beginning, OTH’s strategy was to target underpenetrated high population markets. However, soon after it started to pursue more developed markets with the launch of Wind Mobile
by its Globalive
subsidiary in Canada in December 2009. Moreover, OTH launched the first mobile operator in North Korea
in 2008, “Koryolink
”.
is the country’s largest private sector employer and has the largest market capitalization on the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange. Sawiris established and built the railway, information technology, and telecommunications sectors of Orascom. The conglomerate was later split into separate operating companies: Orascom Telecom (OT), Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Orascom Hotels & Development and Orascom Technology Systems (OTS). OTH was established in late 1997 and since then has been chaired by Sawiris.
in Europe and used the proceeds to complete the buyout of Wind from ENEL, resulting in the Sawiris Family owning 98% of Weather.
In October, 2010, VimpelCom Ltd., Russia’s second-largest mobile phone operator, and Sawiris agreed to merge their phone assets in a transaction valued at about US$6.5 billion. Sawiris announced his plan for a new company with the companies not included in the merger: the Egyptian mobile-services company, Mobinil
, the North Korean GSM operator, Koryolink
, Mena Cables, and non-GSM companies. In January 2011, the company changed its name from "Weather Investments S.p.A." to "Wind Telecom S.p.A.".
and played as a mediating figure between the protesters and Hosni Mubarak
's people. Although he expressed concerns about the military caretaker government he favored changes that increased democracy and stability. He is the founder of the Free Egyptians Party, which favors a civil/non-religious state.
of Mickey Mouse
with an Islamic beard and dressed in a Jilbab and Minnie Mouse
wearing a full Muslim veil caused controversy,accusing him of racism and islamophobia.
award, conferred upon him in 2006 by Pervez Musharraf
“for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments and social sector work.” In November 2011, the Canadian International Council
will recognize him as the 2011 CIC Globalist of the Year.
(similar to a Master's) in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich
, Switzerland and the Abitur
(diploma) from the German Protestant School
, Cairo, Egypt.
and Samih Sawiris
. He is the son of Onsi Sawiris
who established the Orascom Group.
In 2010, Naguib Sawiris was listed in Forbes magazine as the 374th richest person in the world, with a personal wealth of US$2.5 billion.
Sawiris is an Egyptian Christian, following the teachings of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
businessman and politician. He was executive chairman of the telecommunications companies Wind Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding
Orascom Telecom Holding
Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. is a leading international telecommunications company operating GSM networks in the Middle East, Africa, Canada and Asia. It started its operations in Egypt by launching the first egyptian mobile operator in 1998, ....
(OTH) before turning to politics in May 2011. OTH launched the first mobile operator in Egypt, Mobinil
Mobinil
Mobinil is one of Egypt's three mobile phone operators. Founded in 1998. The company is majority-owned and fully consolidated by France Télécom , which holds 71.25% of the shares in "Mobinil Telecom," the rest of the shares being held by Orascom Telecom...
in 1998.
OTH has 20,000 employees and manages 11 GSM operators around the globe. In the beginning, OTH’s strategy was to target underpenetrated high population markets. However, soon after it started to pursue more developed markets with the launch of Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
by its Globalive
Globalive
Globalive Communications Corporation is a Canadian telecommunications provider based in Toronto. Originally founded in 1998 by offering services over pre-established telephone networks, it is best known for its "Yak" and "LooneyCall" long-distance plans....
subsidiary in Canada in December 2009. Moreover, OTH launched the first mobile operator in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
in 2008, “Koryolink
Koryolink
Koryolink , a joint venture between Egyptian company Orascom Telecom Holding and the state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation , is North Korea's only mobile operator. According to Orascom quoted in BusinessWeek, the company had 125,661 subscribers in May 2010. By March 2011, the...
”.
Background
Sawiris joined Orascom in 1979. The Orascom GroupOrascom Group
The Orascom Group is an Egyptian conglomerate, established in 1976. The success of ventures within the Orascom Group as well as the other sectors of the company led to the management decision in 1997 to split Orascom into separate operating companies: Orascom Telecom Holding , Orascom Construction...
is the country’s largest private sector employer and has the largest market capitalization on the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange. Sawiris established and built the railway, information technology, and telecommunications sectors of Orascom. The conglomerate was later split into separate operating companies: Orascom Telecom (OT), Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Orascom Hotels & Development and Orascom Technology Systems (OTS). OTH was established in late 1997 and since then has been chaired by Sawiris.
Wind Telecom S.p.A.
In early 2005, Sawiris founded Weather Investments (later called Wind Telecom) and led the leveraged buyout of a majority stake of Wind Telecommunications in Italy, taking over as its chairman. A year later, he led Weather Investments' acquisition of Tim Hellas in Greece and re-branded it Wind Hellas. In November 2006, Wind Telecommunications floated the largest ever PIK debtPIK loan
A PIK loan is a type of loan which typically does not provide for any cash flows from borrower to lender between the drawdown date and the maturity or refinancing date, not even interest or parts thereof , thus making it an expensive, high-risk financing instrument...
in Europe and used the proceeds to complete the buyout of Wind from ENEL, resulting in the Sawiris Family owning 98% of Weather.
In October, 2010, VimpelCom Ltd., Russia’s second-largest mobile phone operator, and Sawiris agreed to merge their phone assets in a transaction valued at about US$6.5 billion. Sawiris announced his plan for a new company with the companies not included in the merger: the Egyptian mobile-services company, Mobinil
Mobinil
Mobinil is one of Egypt's three mobile phone operators. Founded in 1998. The company is majority-owned and fully consolidated by France Télécom , which holds 71.25% of the shares in "Mobinil Telecom," the rest of the shares being held by Orascom Telecom...
, the North Korean GSM operator, Koryolink
Koryolink
Koryolink , a joint venture between Egyptian company Orascom Telecom Holding and the state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation , is North Korea's only mobile operator. According to Orascom quoted in BusinessWeek, the company had 125,661 subscribers in May 2010. By March 2011, the...
, Mena Cables, and non-GSM companies. In January 2011, the company changed its name from "Weather Investments S.p.A." to "Wind Telecom S.p.A.".
Associations
At international and regional levels, Naguib Sawiris serves on the following Boards, Committees and Councils:- Member of the international advisory committee to the NYSE Board of Directors (IAC) since November 2005
- Board member of the International Advisory Board to the National Bank of KuwaitNational Bank of Kuwait-The National Bank of Kuwait:The National Bank of Kuwait was incorporated in 1952 as the first local bank and the first shareholding company in Kuwait and the Gulf region. Over the years, NBK has maintained its position as the leading bank in Kuwait and built a well-established banking franchise...
- President of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce for 2008–2009
- Board member of the Supreme Council of Sciences and Technology formed by a presidential decree issued by the former Egyptian President Hosni MubarakHosni MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
. The council's board includes Nobel laureate Dr Ahmed ZewailAhmed ZewailAhmed Hassan Zewail is an Egyptian-American scientist who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry. He is the Linus Pauling Chair Professor Chemistry and Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology.- Birth and education :Ahmed Zewail was born on...
, Dr Farouq el-Baz and Sir Magdy Yaqoub. - Co-chair, the Egyptian Italian Business Council
- Board member on both the Board of Trustees and the board of Directors of the Arab Thought FoundationArab Thought FoundationThe Arab Thought Foundation is an international, independent and non-governmental organization founded in 2000, with a guiding mission to help advance the economic, social and cultural development of the Arab region...
- Board of Trustees member of the French University in Cairo
- Board member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs
- Board member of the Consumer Rights Protection Association of Egypt
- Chairman of the Board of Endeavor
Political involvements
He is considered a nationalist and supporter of liberalism. He favored a gradual transition during the 2011 Egyptian revolution2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
and played as a mediating figure between the protesters and Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
's people. Although he expressed concerns about the military caretaker government he favored changes that increased democracy and stability. He is the founder of the Free Egyptians Party, which favors a civil/non-religious state.
Political difficulties
In late June, 2011 his tweetTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
of Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
with an Islamic beard and dressed in a Jilbab and Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi...
wearing a full Muslim veil caused controversy,accusing him of racism and islamophobia.
Awards & recognitions
Naguib Sawiris is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and civic honors, including the French Legion of Honour and the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-AzamCivil decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...
award, conferred upon him in 2006 by Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
“for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments and social sector work.” In November 2011, the Canadian International Council
Canadian International Council
The Canadian International Council / Conseil International du Canada is a non-partisan, nationwide council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs...
will recognize him as the 2011 CIC Globalist of the Year.
Education
Naguib Sawiris holds a DiplomDiplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
(similar to a Master's) in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, Switzerland and the Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
(diploma) from the German Protestant School
Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule
Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule is an exclusive German school in Cairo, Egypt, operated by the German Protestant community of Cairo.-History:...
, Cairo, Egypt.
Personal life
Naguib Sawiris is the eldest of three brothers. His brothers are Nassef SawirisNassef Sawiris
Nassef Onsi Sawiris is an Egyptian businessman and billionaire the youngest of the three sons of Onsi Sawiris, the other two being Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris...
and Samih Sawiris
Samih Sawiris
Samih Onsi Sawiris is an Egyptian businessman and billionaire and second of three sons of Onsi Sawiris, the other two being Naguib Sawiris and Nassef Sawiris. He is the executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Orascom Development, part of the Orascom group of companies...
. He is the son of Onsi Sawiris
Onsi Sawiris
Onsi Sawiris is an Egyptian businessman. He was estimated to be worth approximatively $2.9 billion according to Forbes in 2011. He is the patriarchal head of the Sawiris Family...
who established the Orascom Group.
In 2010, Naguib Sawiris was listed in Forbes magazine as the 374th richest person in the world, with a personal wealth of US$2.5 billion.
Sawiris is an Egyptian Christian, following the teachings of the Coptic Orthodox Church.