Fraser Curley

Fraser has spent over 40 years in the high-tech markets, including defense electronics, mobile telecommunications, and corporate venture capital. He has accrued extensive experience in a variety of international markets, ranging from North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa to Asia and the CIS. 

During the past 25 years he has overseen high value investment portfolios and worked in (both permanent and interim) CEO roles, NED and shareholder advisory roles. His focus has been increasingly on igniting growth and turnaround situations with an emphasis on four main areas:
 

•    Redefining and implementing winning business strategies for sustainable growth


•    Defining and communicating achievable shareholder ROI

•    Culture change and operational efficiency 



Fraser has spent a number of years in the Middle East,including at the region’s largest telecommunication operator group, Saudi Telecom (STC), which generates over 16 billion USD of annual revenue, of which over 5 billion USD was from the international investments under Fraser’s responsibility. 

He was a member of the senior executive team within the group, responsible for strategy, investments and the corporate VC fund, where he oversaw a  DPI performance of 2752%. He represented STC on the boards of its largest holdings. 

Previous to this role, he worked as the CEO of the mobile operator Zain KSA, a Vodafone Partner market operation in Saudi Arabia (Vodafone’s largest in the Middle East). Here he successfully built the foundation of the turnaround of the company – a listed mobile operator generating 2 billion USD annual revenues – under exceptionally difficult circumstances. Completed ahead of schedule, the major financial restructuring of Zain KSA secured the mid-term sustainability of the company through 5 billion USD of additional funding and deferred payments. 

He also drove above-market revenue growth in a highly penetrated market (over 200%), secured access to the full expertise, brand and product portfolio of Vodafone, and added an extra 4% on the EBITDA margin through operational improvements and rationalization. 

Before joining Zain, Fraser was a shadow CEO and Shareholder adviser to a leading operator, in an emerging CIS market. This 11-year-old cellular operator was challenged by new entrants and an entrenched incumbent operator, within 36 months, Fraser has directed the company to achieve:

•    Revenue growth of 550%+
•    EBITDA increase from 15% to 45-50%
•    ARPU growth of +20%
•    Network KPIs raised to international benchmark standards
•    Re-brand of service offering and revitalisation of retail environment 

His career has also seen him in the head ICT partner role for a leading international management consulting company (Arthur D. Little), as well as playing a pivotal role in a multinational telecommunication group (Deutsche Telekom) where he was head of all non-equity mobile activities for over eight years. 
Fraser holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Physics and Electronics from the University of Manchester, and a Masters degree in Telecommunications and Satellite Communications from the University of London (Intercollegiate).