Kenyan expat coming home to hold key Airtel position

Airtel Kenya has appointed Mr Abdallah Khamis its new Commercial Director, in charge of three departments — customer service, Airtel money and enterprise.

He takes over from Mr Neil Suarez who “has left the company to pursue other interests” after four years in the position.

Mr Khamis joins Airtel Kenya from Royal Phillips, Central and West Africa where he was the general manager and organization leader for two years.

“Abdallah brings valuable know-how to Airtel Kenya and will be an asset to the management team,” CEO Adil El Youssefi said in a statement Monday. “His extensive knowledge of commerce, and understanding of consumer and brand dynamics across multiple markets in Africa will prove invaluable.”

Mr Khamis, a Kenyan, holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts, USA and another from the University of Nairobi specializing in Strategy and Marketing. He also has a post-graduate diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing – UK and a Bachelor of Education in Science from Egerton University.

Before joining Royal Philips, Abdallah worked for Coca Cola for 12 years and held various leadership positions in East, Horn and West Africa countries.