E&’s CEO Hatem Dowidar joins Vodafone’s board

E&’s CEO Hatem Dowidar joins Vodafone’s board

LONDON (Reuters) – The chief executive of Abu Dhabi telecoms group E&, Hatem Dowidar, will join Vodafone’s board later this month as a non-executive director after the British company said it had received the necessary regulatory approvals.

E& is Vodafone’s biggest shareholder, with a 14.6% stake, and the two companies formed a strategic agreement in May, which included a board seat for Dowidar.

Britain said last month that E&’s stake in Vodafone posed national security risks in terms of government contracts and cyber security, but it was satisfied with the steps taken to alleviate its concerns.

Dowidar said on Wednesday he looked forward to joining Vodafone’s board to “support the rapid transformation being undertaken by (chief executive) Margherita Della Valle and the management team”.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by James Davey)