The Board of Directors of Pakistan Telecommunications Company Ltd. (PTCL), Pakistan’s leading telecommunication and ICT services provider, has announced the appointment of Dr. Daniel Ritz as President & CEO of the PTCL Group with effect from 3rd March 2016. He succeeds Mr. Walid Irshaid, who was President & CEO of the PTCL Group since March 2007.
Mr. Azmat Ali Ranjha, Chairman PTCL Board said “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel Ritz will be leading PTCL through the next phase of its growth and development. I would also thank Mr. Walid Irshaid who steered PTCL during tough times and helped grow the company in challenging telecom era of Pakistan.”
Commenting on his appointment as President & CEO of the PTCL Group, Dr. Daniel Ritz said: ‘I am truly excited to join PTCL. Taking over from a worthy predecessor in Mr. Walid Irshaid, I plan to position PTCL as an integrated telecom provider of Pakistan. The new position is a challenge that I plan to take on with all the enthusiasm and energy.”
Before being named as President & CEO of the PTCL Group, Dr. Daniel Ritz was working with Etisalat Group as Chief Strategy Officer to lead and direct the Group’s Corporate Strategy, Business Development, Mergers & Acquisition and Strategic Project Management functions since 2012. He also serves as Board Member of a number of Etisalat’s international subsidiaries.
Aged 50, Dr. Daniel Ritz holds a Ph.D (magna cum laude) from the Hochschule St. Gallen in Switzerland and was a visiting Ph.D student at Harvard Business School. Prior to Etisalat, he was with Swisscom as a member of the Group’s Executive Board where he also held non-executive board positions at national and international subsidiaries. In 2008-09, he was Chief Executive Officer of Swisscom Central & Eastern Europe. He started his career with The Boston Consulting Group, rising to Partner & Managing Director.
The outgoing President & CEO of the PTCL Group, Mr. Walid Irshaid has over 25 years of telecom experience and he served PTCL for nine years. Upon joining PTCL, Mr. Walid Irshaid transformed the organization from a state-run monopoly operator into a highly competitive, advanced and integrated service provider in Pakistan’s private sector. Under his leadership PTCL started Broadband Internet services in fixed and fixed wireless domain along with multimedia service.
Talking about his years at PTCL, Mr. Walid Irshaid said: “I took over PTCL when it was privatized and I had to contend with all the pains of transformation along with my other colleagues who had moved over from the public sector. By the grace of Allah, we have together taken PTCL through all the ups and downs and today it is a very profitable company and Pakistan’s leading telecommunication and ICT services provider. It has really been fulfilling working for PTCL and sharing my time with an amazingly gifted team which has been fully aligned to achieve the highest standards from day one. I will certainly miss their commitment and dedication. I wish Dr. Daniel all the best, who is not new to PTCL as he has been a board member of PTCL”.
