Dr. Salem Y. Itani – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of touch, Dr. Salem Itani is an accomplished Telecom executive with over 23 years’ experience in Technology Management and Operations.
Dr. Itani joined touch in 2002; whereby, he served in various leadership positions throughout the years. He gained 360-degree vision and demonstrated high ability to lead a positive change in Teams and Technology development, innovation, solution design, strategic planning, project management along with negotiations and contracts management.
During his previous position as Chief Technical Officer, he led operational optimization, OPEX saving program, 5G model launch, network optimization and modernization into Telco cloud.
Driven by thirst for knowledge and innovation, Itani has participated in a variety of developmental trainings in Europe, China and GCC. He was also appointed as a Judge for the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Award, an entrepreneur-focused program affiliated with the prestigious MIT University.
In addition to being a member in the advisory committee of prestigious universities, Dr. Itani is also the Chairman of “MIC Ventures” that was established in 2018 in order to give Lebanese early and mid-level startups financial funding and experienced business support and scalability, thus allowing them to compete in a continuously evolving technological environment.
Dr. Itani is granted with a Doctorate in Business Administration from Ecole Supérieure des Affaires - ESA, and IAE Nice (Graduate School of Management), holds an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the Lebanese American University and a Master’s in Computer & Communications Engineering from the American University of Beirut.
Awards
- Dr. Itani was granted “the Telecommunications CEO of the Year 2023” award at the Global Banking and Finance Awards® 2023, which celebrates professional and institutional excellence and honors individuals that had a positive impact on the performance of their institutions and the sector in which they work.
- He was also granted the prestigious “CEO Today Middle East Award 2023” as the most inspiring telecoms Leader of the Year. These prestigious awards honor the visionary leaders who have made a significant impact in shaping the business landscape of the Middle East, and are a celebration of exceptional leadership in recognition of the achievements of CEOs who have demonstrated visionary strategy, unique entrepreneurial spirit, and positive change in their organizations and with their clients.