Zain CEO ranked one of the most influential of the century

Global Telecoms magazine has ranked Zain CEO Saad Al Barrak as the 29th most influential telecom executive of the century in its Top 100 survey.

Al Barrak expanded Kuwait's MTC in the Middle East, bought Celtel in Africa and rebranded the lot as Zain, which recently gained worldwide recognition for the introduction of One Network, the world's first borderless mobile service, the magazine wrote in its October edition.

Al Barrak runs what is probably the most diverse telecom company in the world, employing people of around 100 nationalities.

"I hope my ranking inspires other executives from the region to be daring and different in their business dealings and to dedicate their careers to the betterment of humanity in the same way Zain has," Al Barrak said.