Yahsat Completes Thuraya Takeover, Reshapes C-Suite

Left: Ahmed Ali Al Shamsi, Thuraya CEO; right: Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Yahsat CEO.

United Arab Emirates-based operator Yahsat completed its acquisition of a majority and controlling stake in mobile satellite services operator Thuraya and announced a series of new executive appointments to the company’s C-suite.

Ali Al Hashemi, General Manager of Yahsat’s Government Solutions division, has been named the new CEO of Thuraya, replacing former CEO & CTO Ahmed Al Shamsi, who will remain with the company as an executive advisor. Yahsat CTO Marcus Vilaςa will now serve as Thuraya’s CTO. Yahsat COO Shawkat Ahmed will serve Thuraya’s new CCO, succeeding Rashid Baba. At this time, all three of the new additions to Thuraya’s leadership team will maintain their responsibilities at Yahsat and will report to Yahsat CEO Masood M. Sharif Mahmood.

Yahsat first announced its acquisition of Thuraya in April. The transaction adds two satellites serving more than 160 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Asia to the Yahsat fleet and creates a combined fixed and mobile C-, Ka-, Ku- and L-band offering to customers.

According to Mahmood, the Thuraya acquisition allows Yahsat to expand both its commercial and government satellite solutions portfolios and build an IoT and M2M platform to meet market demands. ”By integrating the portfolios of the two companies under the leadership of Ali Al Hashemi, we will together be able to offer a comprehensive mobile and fixed satellite services portfolio, further strengthening our value proposition to our customers. We are excited about growing together and understanding how we can work in unison, share new ideas, and ultimately serve our customers better,” Mahmood said in a statement.