Ghassan Hasbani
Founder & CEO
Graycoats Consulting
Speaker on the Technology Panel

Founder and CEO of Graycoats consulting and investments. Leader at an international level in strategy, economics and technology. Previously, he held several leadership positions, the latest of which was the Chief Executive Officer of the International Operations of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) managing telecommunications companies investments and operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Bahrain, Kuwait, Turkey and South Africa with revenues exceeding $10 billion. In addition he was the deputy Chairman of the investment committee of STC ventures, a VC fund created to encourage digital economy investments in the Middle East.

He is currently a member of the Global Agenda Council on Competitiveness with the World Economic Forum and a fellow of the Aspen institute Global Leadership Network.

He joined STC from the global management consulting firm Booz & Company, where he led the firm's Middle East Communications and Technology practice. Mr. Hasbani has more than 20 years of experience in the telecom industry in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

He held several non-executive board positions in large organizations such as Maxis (Malaysia), Turk Telecom, Viva Kuwait and Viva Bahrain where he was the Deputy Chairman of the Board. He also chaired the Board of Commissioners for Axis in Indonesia. In addition, he chaired various audit, nomination and remuneration committees at Board level.

Mr. Hasbani has also held leadership positions in leading organizations in the telecoms and technology industries, including Nortel Networks and Cable & Wireless in Europe. His global experience includes, in addition to the Middle East, markets such as Europe, South East Asia, Africa and Latin America.

His experience covers all aspects of operational and functional management, governance and leadership.

Mr. Hasbani is also a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in the U.K. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering with first class honors from the U.K.

He is the founder and Chairman of "sawt" Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting the development of healthcare, awareness and education in Lebanon.