Qtel Group announced that Dr. Bassam Hannoun has been appointed as CEO for Wataniya Telecom and will begin his new role from 1 September 2012. The Acting CEO Abdulaziz Fakhroo resumes his role as Deputy CEO of Wataniya Telecom. Dr. Hannoun was most recently the CEO of Wataniya Mobile Palestine, where he was responsible for the successful IPO and growth of operations. HE Qtel Group Chairman Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani said “Dr. Hannoun’s knowledge and loyalty to the Group is strong and deep. In Palestine, he and his team have taken our business from a start-up to a real market challenger, delivering world-class service to customers in an incredibly challenging environment.” Qtel owns 52.5% of NMTC Kuwait, which was commercially launched in 1999 as the first privately owned telecommunications operator in Kuwait.