Ahmed Mekky, co-founder, board member and CEO of Gulf Bridge International (GBI), has been listed amongst Global Telecoms Business Power 100 list of industry leaders and influencers.

The GBI cable network went live earlier this year as the highest capacity and most geographically comprehensive in the Mena region, and the first within the region operated on a carrier-neutral business model.

“From a sketch on a napkin, to a network underpinning development of a burgeoning knowledge economy, GBI’s journey over the past three years has been truly remarkable,” said Mekky. “In a region run by consortiums, and without a more sophisticated – yet secure - ringed system, many said our vision could not be accomplished. Making it to this list reflects the success of our vision and underlines our continuing mission to bring industry-leading, carrier-neutral capacity to the Middle East.”

Activated in February, GBI is offering additional much needed capacity on the first Gulf network ever built in a ring configuration, with routing onwards to Europe, Africa and Asia, a statement from the company said.

Outside of GBI, Mekky plays an active role in the global telecoms industry. He is the co-chair of the Samena Subsea Working Group, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC)

In Egypt, Mekky was recently appointed to the board of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (Itida), which is the executive IT arm of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, MCIT.

He is also on the board of the Italian Egyptian Business Council which is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation formed to facilitate and develop economic relations between Italy and Egypt. – TradeArabia News Service