Naguib Sawiris
Chairman – Weather Investments II
Executive Chairman - Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding
Founder - Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.
Chairman – La Mancha Inc.
Naguib Sawiris is Chairman of the Board of Weather Investments II S.à r.l, La Mancha Resources Inc.'s parent company and is also the Executive Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E.
Since joining Orascom, the family business, in 1979, Naguib Sawiris has continuously contributed to the growth and diversification of the company into what it is today – one of Egypt's largest and most diversified conglomerates. The Orascom Group is the country's largest private sector employer and has the largest market capitalization on the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange. Mr. Sawiris established and built the railway, information technology, and telecommunications sectors of Orascom. The success of these ventures as well as the other sectors of the company led to the management's decision to split Orascom into separate operating companies: Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) www.orascomtelecom.com, Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) www.orascomci.com, Orascom Hotels & Development www.orascomhd.com and Orascom Technology Systems (OTS).
As the Founder of Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), Mr. Sawiris has dynamically led the growth of the company, to be the leading regional Telecom player and among the best regarded Emerging Markets players in the world, culminating in the much publicized merger deal between Wind Telecom, the mother company of Orascom Telecom Holding and Vimpelcom Ltd in April 2011. At the time, the merger created the world's sixth largest mobile telecommunications provider by number of subscribers with operations in 20 countries serving 181 million customers, marking a new milestone in Mr. Sawiris' long and successful career journey in leading the international growth of both Orascom Telecom and Wind Telecom.
As part of the merger deal, Mr. Sawiris has spun off Orascom Telecom's non-gsm operations and Egyptian-based telecom assets into Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding of which he is currently Executive Chairman.
Mr. Sawiris has recently led the full acquisition of La Mancha Resources Inc. through a tender offer launched by Weather Investments II. La Mancha Resources Inc. is an international gold producer based in Canada with operations, development projects and exploration activities in Africa, Australia and Argentina. In August 2012, Mr. Sawiris was appointed as La Mancha's Chairman of the Board.
At international and regional levels, Mr. Sawiris serves on several 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 Kuwait
- President of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce
- Board member of Mentor Arabia
- A member of the Supreme Council of Sciences and Technology among a galaxy of scientists including
Nobel laureate Dr. Ahmed Zewail, Dr. Farouk El Baz, and Dr. Magdi Yaqoub.
- Member of both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of the Arab Thought Foundation
- Member of the Board of Trustees of the French University in Cairo
- Vice-Chair of Sawiris Foundation for Social Development
- Member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs
- Board member of the Consumer Rights Protection Association of Egypt
On the wake of the Egyptian revolution of January 2011, Mr. Sawiris, an avid advocate of democracy and secularism, founded the Free Egyptians Party (Al Masreyeen Al Ahrrar), the first and most dynamic liberal party to form after the revolution, today recognized as a leading defender of democratic values, pluralism and the preservation of the civil nature of the Egyptian state.
Mr. Sawiris is also the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and civic honors, including the "Legion d'honneur" (the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding services rendered to France). In July 2011 Mr. Sawiris was awarded the Honor of Commander of the Order of the "Stella della Solidarietà Italiana" (Star of Italian Solidarity) for his outstanding contribution to the Italian economy through his investments in Italy. In 2006, the prestigious "Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam" award was conferred upon him by General Pervez Musharref for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments and social sector work.
Mr. Sawiris holds a diploma of Mechanical Engineering with a Masters in Technical Administration from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich) and a Diploma from the German Evangelical School, Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Sawiris is married, with four children and lives in Cairo. He speaks Arabic, English, German and French.