ISLAMABAD: Matthew Willsher has been appointed as President and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Ufone, sources revealed to Business Recorder.

Sources revealed that the decision was taken during the PTCL board meeting held Wednesday and it was decided that Willsher will replace Rashid Khan, who had been the group CEO for PTCL since March 2019, effective December 1st, 2020.

However, the decision was not mentioned in the official statement after the board meeting.

The PTCL spokesperson in Islamabad expressed ignorance to Business Recorder about the development and could not confirm till filing of this report.

Willsher brings along over 25 years of experience in consumer goods and telecommunication sectors.

He has previously worked with Procter & Gamble, British Telecom, LG Telecom, Telstra, HK CSL, Maxis and Etisalat.

The roles have included those which are general management and operational such as he has worked as CEO Etisalat Nigeria and Chief Operating Officer of HK CSL.

He has also taken up more marketing/strategic roles such as he worked as CMO, Strategic Marketing Director for Telstra Mobile.

Rashid Khan, the outgoing president and CEO, took charge of Ufone in August 2017 and was later made the group CEO of PTCL group in March 2019.

Rashid Khan is credited for various initiatives at the group, particularly for modernizing the network (both Ufone and PTCL) and enhancing customer experience of the users. He's also marked for turning around both Ufone and PTCL in a fierce Pakistani telecom market.

The PTCL, under headship of Rashid Khan, reported 350 percent growth in YoY quarterly profits during Q3 2020.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020