Mr. Khalifa Al Shamsi is the Chief Executive Officer of e& life and e& international. With over 30 years of experience in the telecom, media, and ICT industries, he brings a unique blend of commercial acumen and technical expertise to his dual leadership roles.
Since 2022, he has led the growth and strategies of e& life, bringing the next generation digital world to the consumer’s fingertips through smart, AI-powered platforms and apps spanning fintech, entertainment, and mobility services. Under Khalifa’s leadership, e& life has become a cornerstone of the group's strategic evolution, with the subsidiaries under his purview playing a key role in advancing digital transformation and broadening revenue streams beyond traditional telecom services.
Building on this momentum, e& money has emerged as the UAE’s leading fintech app, while STARZ ON has quickly become the most downloaded streaming service in the GCC, reaching over 5.9 million downloads in just 12 months. Khalifa’s portfolio also includes Wio Bank and Careem, both of which are democratising access to financial services and mobility solutions for people across the region.
As CEO of e& international, Khalifa drives growth strategies and enhances the value of telecom operations across 19 countries, including in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, following the acquisition of PPF Telecom’s assets. Since assuming leadership of e& international in 2024, the Partner Market Programme has expanded to three countries and the company’s leadership in Net Promoter Score (NPS) across key markets has reached number one.
Khalifa is leading e& international’s push toward AI-powered automation, machine learning, and advanced analytics to optimise networks, anticipate demand, and enhance service delivery. He is also expanding digital offerings, leveraging AI to streamline operations, accelerate digital adoption, and improve customer experience. Under his leadership, e& international is deploying self-healing networks and predictive capacity planning, boosting efficiency while cutting deployment costs by up to 30 per cent.
Khalifa serves as Chairman of evision and STARZPLAY. He is also actively associated with industry organisations like the UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC) where he is the Chairman of the executive committee.
Joining e& in 1993, Khalifa played a key role in the success of the group’s core telecom business, spearheading its first moves into the technology space with the successful deployment of mobile services, fibre-based broadband, and advanced data services. Previously, as Group Chief Digital Services Officer, a pioneering role in the region, Khalifa shaped e&’s digital vision, integrating multiple industry verticals to deliver advanced communication, fintech, and cloud services. He played a key role in developing digital capabilities and introducing IoT solutions that power today’s advanced platforms. His leadership opened opportunities for smart projects across consumer, public, and private sectors, driving digital transformation for governments, corporates, and enterprises.
Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors at Careem, e& money, e& enterprise, Wio Bank, and Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Etisalat ‘Mobily’, where he previously served as Managing Director for five years. He is a former board member of PTCL and Ufone in Pakistan, and Etisalat Afghanistan.
Khalifa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, USA.
