Effective September 1, 2019, Fadi Pharaon is appointed as Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area Middle East & Africa at Ericsson and member of Ericsson's Executive Team, reporting to the CEO. Fadi Pharaon currently holds the position as Vice President, Networks & Managed Services within Ericsson's Market Area Europe & Latin America. 

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, says: "With the introduction of 5G we are at an exciting time in the industry. Our customer relationships are key to build a strong company position in the market for this next phase of industry development. Fadi has the right background, experience and capabilities to lead this work in this Market Area and I am very pleased to see him stepping up to this role."

Fadi Pharaon says: "The mobile industry is transforming countries and industries and with 5G becoming a reality, we will see new business opportunities and innovations across our markets. I really look forward to taking on this exciting new role in Market Area Middle East & Africa and work together with both the team in the Market Area as well as the Executive Team. Our abilities to work closely with our customers in our market areas are key to leveraging our technology leadership in 5G."

Fadi Pharaon has a MSc degree in Computer Science from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, as well as an MBA from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Business School, Scotland. With more than 21 years of experience at Ericsson Fadi Pharaon has had several management positions with sales responsibilities in markets across Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America.

As a member of Ericsson's Executive Leadership Team, Fadi Pharaon succeeds Rafiah Ibrahim as of September 1, 2019. As announced March 12, 2019, Rafiah Ibrahim will leave her position as Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area Middle East & Africa effective August 31, 2019 and will take on a role as advisor to CEO Börje Ekholm.