Orange Business Services has appointed Sahem Azzam as Vice President Middle East and Africa.

According to a statement released by the company, Azzam will be based in the regional headquarters at Dubai Silicon Oasis in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and takes over regional leadership from Luc Serviant.

The company added that Azzam will lead its regional team, with support from offices in Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf, South Africa and Turkey.

He will focus on accelerating the growth of the business, leveraging opportunities from the rapid digital business transformation across the region, which is creating a new operating landscape for enterprises and governments, according to Orange Business Services.

The Orange Business Services Middle East innovation hub and regional business headquarters at Dubai Silicon Oasis is the regional centre of excellence for smart cities. The hub is a co-sponsor of the Dubai Smart City Accelerator, launched to support start-ups with mentorship, product modelling, and preparation for go-to-market.

Richard Van Wageningen, senior vice president for Indirect, Middle East, Africa, Russia (IMEAR), at Orange Business Services said, "We are pleased to welcome Sahem Azzam, who will play a critical role in leading the regional team in the Middle East and Africa, supported by our strong partner ecosystem and innovation culture. Our ambition is to accelerate our growth in this very diverse region with unique opportunities across many industries, including large and complex smart city projects in the Arabian Gulf."

Orange Business Services said Sahem brings over 15 years of experience in the region to his new role, including sales and marketing management across the ICT industry and networking space in several multinational organisations.