The chief executive of a UAE-backed telecoms group will join Vodafone’s board next week despite national security concerns.
Hatem Dowidar, chief executive of Emirates Telecommunications, will become a non-executive director from Monday, following a national security investigation into the relationship between the two companies.
Emirates, also known as E&, is 60 percent owned by the UAE government and has been building a stake in Vodafone since 2022, and is now the largest shareholder, with 14.6 percent.
The companies signed a strategic agreement that included a board seat for Dowidar. But E& faces accusations of online censorship and alleged attempts to spy on citizens.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warned in January that the relationship posed a threat to Britain given Vodafone’s work with government departments and its influence on the UK telecoms industry.
Security concerns: Hatem Dowidar (pictured), CEO of Emirates Telecommunications, to be non-executive director of Vodafone from Monday
He said the deal would allow the state-controlled group to “materially influence” the business and ordered Vodafone to set up a national security committee to oversee sensitive work affecting the UK.
Vodafone agreed to inform ministers of any changes or terminations to the partnership and to comply with requirements on who is on the board.
Dowidar has held leadership positions at Vodafone, including CEO of Vodafone Egypt and Vodafone Malta.
He said he looked forward to supporting “the rapid transformation” that CEO Margherita Della Valle is undertaking.
But some analysts believe shareholders may be frustrated.
“Shareholders calling for a split of the company to unlock shareholder value could feel their cause is set back, with E& on the board, given E&’s ambition to become a global player in telecommunications and technology,” he said. Karen Egan, telecommunications expert at Enders Analysis, who added that the appointment was unlikely to pose security risks.
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Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has instructed regulator Ofcom to examine the sale of the Telegraph media group to a joint venture between a US company and another owned by the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.