Sam Darwish

Sam Darwish has over 20 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry and is the co-founder of IHS Towers. Previously he served as the Deputy Managing Director of CELIA, Nigeria’s first GSM operator. He was also the Vice Chairman and Director of Projects at Lintel, an international GSM operator, responsible for global project implementation in West Africa and the Middle East. Before that he was the Network Chief Engineer for Libancell (currently Touch), Lebanon’s first GSM network operator.

Sam founded IHS Towers, the largest towerco in the EMEA region by tower count, in 2001. Under Sam’s leadership, IHS Towers has launched an award-winning sustainability program and the IHS Academy, a world-class online training portal. The sustainability strategy is tailored to each country’s operations and aligned with four pillars: education, ethics, environment and people. These are testament to Sam’s commitment to constant innovation and new skill development which will ultimately strengthen local business ecosystems throughout the emerging markets.

Additionally, Sam founded Singularity Investments which invests in various early to mid-stage companies in Africa and the US. Singularity also supports incubator programs for aspiring tech entrepreneurs, serves as a mentor to business executives and contributes to various community projects in Africa. Moreover, Sam has several active and passive interests in various investments and projects.

Sam is a US citizen, a member of the Wilson Center Global Advisory Council and frequent speaker at telecom industry events. He is a graduate, with distinction, of the American University of Beirut with a bachelor’s Engineering Degree in Computer Communications.