The Board of Directors of the Palestinian Telecommunication Group, headed by Mr. Sabih Masri met in Amman Sunday, January 31, 2010.  The Board reviewed preliminary financial statements for the end of the 2009 fiscal year.  The Board also appointed Mr. Ammar Aker as the new chief executive officer for the Paltel Group.

The appointment of Mr. Aker as the CEO of the Paltel Group became effective as of Monday, February 1 2010. The Board recognized Mr. Aker’s years of experience in telecommunications, where he worked for ten years at the mobile operation, “Jawwal” and moved his way up the corporate ladder by holding several executive positions.  During his tenure at Jawwal, he served as a Financial Comptroller and was then promoted to Chief Financial Officer, eventually becoming CEO of Jawwal where he has led the company to become a model for economic success with the highest international standards.

Mr. Masri stated that the Board of Directors considers the appointment of Mr. Aker as an opportunity to transfer the pioneering experience of Jawwal to the rest of the Paltel Group companies, as a complementary strategy to the ongoing journey made by the group companies to further develop the Palestinian telecommunications sector.  This decision will ensure that our pace will continue to grow with the latest technology trends in the world of telecommunications which will in turn help advance the Palestinian national economy.  Together as a Group, we hope to achieve our desired goal to work in a thriving Palestinian market where the Paltel Group is able to offer all forms of telecommunications added value in terms of service quality and social responsiveness in a free and fair competitive environment.