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Dr. Andualem Admassie
Telecom Executive | Education Leader | Corporate Governance Practitioner
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Quick Insights
30+ years of executive leadership across telecom, education, and consulting
Former CEO of Ethio Telecom — Ethiopia's largest telecommunications organization
CEO of a telecom startup in South Sudan — rare cross-border executive experience
Board membership across 7+ national and private institutions spanning ICT, infrastructure, agriculture, and higher education
Architect of broadband and mobile penetration expansion during a transformative period in Ethiopian telecom
Successfully led the closure of a USD 1.5 billion telecom expansion project with ZTE, and oversaw a USD 1.6 billion nationwide Telecom Expansion Project with Huawei, Ericsson, and ZTE
Key executive at Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia — part of the country's largest foreign direct investment ($3 Billion total: $850M MNO license + $150M M-PESA license + $2B in project and operational investment)
Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia subscriber base surpassing 10 million under his tenure
Trained & Certified in Innovation in Africa — Harvard University, USA
Dr. Andualem Admassie's professional formation took place at a time when Ethiopia's telecommunications infrastructure was in its earliest stages of national development. His academic grounding in business and education from Addis Ababa University gave him a dual lens — organizational leadership and human capital development — that would define his career trajectory across multiple sectors.
His early exposure to the intersection of technology, policy, and institutional management shaped his understanding of how infrastructure investment and human capacity building must advance together for sustainable national development.
Selected Career Milestones
Chief Internal Audit Officer, Ethio Telecom (2010–2012)
Chief Human Resources Officer, Ethio Telecom (2012–2013)
Chief Executive Officer, Ethio Telecom (2013–2018) — led national broadband expansion and mobile penetration growth
Director General, FDRE Education and Training Authority — oversaw national education quality and relevance frameworks
Director General, Higher Education Relevance and Quality Agency (HERQA)
Co-founder & CEO, Telecom company, South Sudan — built and led a telecom operation across the border
CEO & Founder, Funaton Consulting Group (FCG) — advisory and consulting firm
Chief External Affairs Officer (CEAO), Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia (2024–present) — senior leadership at Ethiopia's first private mobile operator
University Lecturer & Dean of a College — taught both locally and internationally
Professional Affiliations , Membership & Additional Contributions
Best CEO of the Year Award and CEO with HR Orientation — African Telecom Leadership Award, Mauritius (December 2015)
Socrates Award Winner, Economics and Business Category — The Socrates Committee, Oxford, London (2017); in addition to more than ten international awards won by Ethio Telecom as a company during his leadership
Recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — Africa Region — for contributions to Radio Spectrum Management, Optical Fiber rollout, digital inclusion, and the Girls in ICT initiative
Endorsed by senior international telecom executives for growing Ethio Telecom's business, stabilizing its network, and expanding both mobile and broadband coverage affordably
Appointed to lead external affairs at Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia during a landmark expansion phase — subscriber base surpassing 10 million
Professional Overview
Dr. Andualem Admassie is one of Ethiopia's most experienced telecommunications and organizational leaders, with a career spanning executive management, public and private sector leadership, education governance, and international business. He is best known for his tenure as CEO of Ethio Telecom, during which he led significant expansion of mobile and broadband services at a time when digital connectivity was becoming central to Ethiopia's development agenda.
Following his leadership at Ethio Telecom, Dr. Andualem demonstrated rare entrepreneurial reach by co-founding and leading a telecom company in South Sudan — a move that placed him among the small group of Ethiopian executives who have built and managed businesses beyond national borders. His subsequent roles in education — as Director General of the Education and Training Authority and Director General of HERQA — reflect a consistent commitment to institutional quality and human capital development alongside his technology career.
He currently serves as Chief External Affairs Officer at Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia, the country's first privately operated mobile network, backed by $3 Billion in total foreign direct investment. His appointment is part of Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia's deliberate strategy to deepen local leadership as the company's subscriber base — now surpassing 10 million — continues to grow.
Dr. Andualem has served as a University Lecturer and Dean of a College both in Ethiopia and internationally, and has held board positions across seven institutions spanning ICT, infrastructure, higher education, agriculture, and private enterprise — a governance footprint that reflects the breadth of his professional engagement.
Education
PhD in Business Administration — Bulacan State University, Philippines
MA in Education Leadership & Management — Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
BSc in Business Education — Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Diploma in Accounting — Kotebe Metropolitan University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Trained & Certified in Innovation in Africa — Harvard University, USA
Selected Publications, Awards & Legacy Achievements
Board & Governance Roles
ICT Park Corporation
Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU)
Wollo University
Worabe University
Ethiopian Toll Roads Enterprise
Ethiopian Agricultural Commodities Warehousing Service Enterprise
East Africa Holding
Professional Journey & Contribution
Dr. Andualem's career reflects a deliberate and sustained engagement with Ethiopia's most critical infrastructure sectors. At Ethio Telecom, he progressed from internal audit through human resources to the organization's top leadership — a progression that gave him a comprehensive understanding of one of Ethiopia's most complex public enterprises. During his tenure as CEO, the organization expanded both its mobile footprint and broadband reach, at a time when digital access was moving from a luxury to a national priority.
He successfully led the closure of a USD 1.5 billion telecom expansion project implemented with ZTE. In parallel, he demonstrated strong executive leadership on a second nationwide Telecom Expansion Project (TEP), overseeing a total investment of USD 1.6 billion in collaboration with Huawei, Ericsson, and ZTE.
In addition, he managed a EUR 35 million transformation contract with France Telecom (Orange) and Sofrecom, which supported the institutional and operational transformation of the former Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) into Ethio Telecom. His role spanned the full project lifecycle — from inception and implementation through to completion and post-project operational continuity.
His transition into education governance was not a departure from his technology career but an extension of his belief that institutional quality and human capital are as important as physical infrastructure. As Director General of the Education and Training Authority, he engaged with the systemic challenges of relevance and quality in Ethiopian higher education.
The South Sudan chapter of his career stands apart — building a telecom company from the ground up in a post-conflict environment demonstrated both entrepreneurial courage and regional ambition. His current role at Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia places him at the intersection of multinational investment, regulatory engagement, and local leadership development — a fitting stage for a career built across Ethiopia's most strategically significant sectors.
Platform Acknowledgment
Dr. Andualem Admassie represents a generation of Ethiopian executives who have navigated the transition from state-led enterprise to competitive, privately invested markets — carrying institutional knowledge of the public sector into leadership roles that shape Ethiopia's integration into the global digital economy. His career across telecom, education, consulting, and international business makes him one of the more versatile and consequential figures in Ethiopian professional life over the past three decades.
His ongoing work at Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia, combined with his long track record of institutional board service and cross-sector leadership, positions him as a notable contributor to Ethiopia's economic and technological development story.