Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo

Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo has led Qatari-headquartered Ooredoo Group as group CEO since November 2020, steering one of the Middle East’s most geographically diverse telecom and digital infrastructure players. Ooredoo operates across Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia, Palestine, the Maldives and Indonesia, serving 147.4 million customers including its joint venture Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison.

His leadership builds on extensive experience in sovereign wealth, finance and global M&A. Prior to his appointment, he served as Deputy Undersecretary for Budget, Treasury and Financial Affairs at Qatar’s Ministry of Finance, and previously co-headed mergers and acquisitions at Qatar Investment Authority.

Under Fakhroo’s stewardship, Ooredoo has delivered consistent financial performance while accelerating its pivot into next-generation infrastructure. In Q1 2025, Ooredoo posted a net profit of QAR 960m, up 5 per cent year-on-year, with revenues holding steady at QAR 5.8bn and EBITDA at QAR2.5bn, maintaining a 43 per cent EBITDA margin. Kuwait, Algeria and Iraq contributed notably to growth.

A key milestone under his leader- ship this year has been the launch of Syntys, a fully independent, carrier- neutral data centre company spun off from Ooredoo after two years of strategic planning. Backed by $1bn

in investment and QR2bn in financing, Syntys now controls 60 per cent of installed capacity regionally and is targeting 120MW. With US enterprise information management services firm Iron Mountain as a strategic investor, Syntys aims to serve hyperscalers and enterprises amid booming demand for AI and cloud infrastructure.

Beyond data centres, Ooredoo is building the Gulf’s largest subsea cable system linking Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Iraq. The Fibre in the Gulf project will boost Asia-Europe data traffic as Ooredoo deepens its role in global connectivity.

Fakhroo also plays an active role across Qatar’s broader economic and cultural sectors. He sits on the boards of Accor SA, Katara Hospitality, Qatar Museums and Indosat. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from ESLSCA University.