Indosat Ooredoo - Executive of the Year - Telecommunications

Company: Indosat Ooredoo
Entry Submitted By: FTI Consulting (Singapore)
Company Description: Ooredoo Group is a leading international communications company delivering the leading data experience across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Telecommunications

Nomination Title: Ahmad Al-Neama, President Director and CEO

In August 2019, Ahmad Al-Neama was appointed President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia’s largest telecommunications company. A strategic leader and mentor, Ahmad has been with Ooredoo Group since 2004. He is also a board member of Ooredoo Myanmar and Asia Mobile Holdings.

Growth and financial management

Ahmad’s goal to take Indosat Ooredoo to new heights has been put into action through his comprehensive Road to Recovery plan, devised and advanced by Ahmad himself.

In 2020, thanks to Ahmad’s focus on investments in digitisation and ongoing cost optimisations, Indosat Ooredoo achieved an increase in its topline revenue and EBITDA despite the economic and social impact of the pandemic. 2020 financial highlights include:

-Revenue growth of 6.9% YoY and EBITDA growth of 16% YoY;
-EBITDA margin increased to 40.9% compared to 37.7% in 2019;
-Customer base increased 1.7% YoY to 60.3 million; and
-Cellular revenue growth of 11.6% YoY.

In 2021, Ahmad subsequently facilitated the sale of more than 4,200 telecommunications towers for US$750 million. The capital gained from the sale will be used to improve Indosat Ooredoo’s network performance and launch new innovative digital solutions.

Promotion of Innovative Practices

Under Ahmad’s guidance and in support of Indonesia’s vision to become the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia, Indosat Ooredoo has curated numerous innovative digital campaigns aimed at improving connectivity and supporting digital lifestyles, including:

-The IM3 Ooredoo 696 campaign with Google Assistant, which enables content to be sourced through toll-free calls by non-smartphone users and helps to increase digital inclusion in Indonesia;
-A new digital operating model in partnership with Ericsson and Huawei, combining the latest developments in fault predictability, artificial intelligence, automation, and analytics to deliver an improved customer experience;
-Partnerships with Facebook to increase digital literacy, Snapchat to leverage emerging digital platforms, and Google Assistant to provide information for non-smartphone users and assist people with vision impairment.
-A 30-day free data quota for students, which supported remote learning by providing access to free resources across 60 official e-learning platforms during COVID-19;
-CloudVoice, which allows companies to use office telephone numbers from anywhere, saving telecommunication overheads amid COVID-19;
-Hybrid Cloud and Big Data solutions, allowing Indonesia’s government to monitor community activities and roll out COVID-19 health protocols; and
-Kios myIM3, which enables business launches from home amid COVID-19.

Additionally, Indosat Ooredoo has supported the government’s digital agenda by launching campaigns targeting digital literacy, such as:

-The Internet 101 nationwide campaign, which helped first-time internet users in Indonesia adopt mobile internet usage; and
-The launch of Indosat Ooredoo Digital Camp (IDCamp) – a scholarship program to train young Indonesian programmers, including those with disabilities, and fulfil the need for talent in the rapidly growing digital industry. Since 2019, IDCamp has distributed more than 67,000 coding scholarships, amongst which more than 34,000 developers have been certified.

Hiring and employee development

Recognising the importance of training and developing home-grown talent through the widespread employment of Indonesians, Ahmad has increased the employee development program’s budget.

Ahmad has also ensured that Indosat Ooredoo does not lay-off employees during COVID-19. Instead, in 2020, Ahmad offered fast-track bonuses and twice the Government-mandated level of COVID-19 relief assistance to affected employees. Ahmad also engaged virtually with employees during Indonesia’s COVID-19 lockdowns, resulting in higher productivity among employees, with 91% of employees reporting higher energy levels and enjoyment as they worked from home.

Organizational management

Upon being appointed, Ahmad recognised the need to break down the silos between functions. He therefore developed an internal championship program to promote new ways of working. Several focused squads were formed to deliver specific performance indicators with cross-function members. As a result, teams have become more solid and collaborative.

Ahmad’s strong and consistent leadership ultimately makes him an empowering force in Indosat Ooredoo. Under his guidance, Indosat Ooredoo is successfully implementing its 3-year transformation strategy and is on the way to becoming a leading digital telco.

Under Ahmad’s leadership, Indosat Ooredoo has achieved the following:

-Indosat Ooredoo became the first cellular operator in Indonesia to conduct OpenRAN (Radio Access Network) field trials in April 2021. OpenRAN technology will both reduce the cost of network provision and accelerate the expansion of the 4G network to the interior of Indonesia.
-Indosat Ooredoo became the first telecommunications in Indonesia to launch CloudConnect amid the COVID-19 pandemic. CloudConnect provides connectivity to Public Cloud using Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) concept, increasing the speed of network performance by up to 5 times compared to a regular alternative network.
-Despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Indosat Ooredoo recorded strong performance for 2020 with total revenue increasing by 6.9% YoY and cellular revenue increasing by 11.6% YoY.
-Indosat Ooredoo was named the 6th fastest growing telecoms brand globally by the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2021 report.