Haithem Al-Faraj is senior vice president of technology and operations at Saudi Telecom Co. (STC) where he has been since 2015. STC will soon set up a localized platform for the provision of eSIM services in the Kingdom, after obtaining the necessary international accreditation to roll out eSIM technology. Al-Faraj said the provision of eSIM services in Saudi Arabia following the certification from industry organization GSMA, was a step toward achieving the goals of the Vision 2030 reform plan, as the localization of eSIM technology would enable digital transformation. Al-Faraj joined STC five years ago and is responsible for conceiving, planning, operating as well as leading implementation of transformation projects to improve organization-wide deployment of information technology and communication services and solutions. He also served as vice president of the operation sector where he led challenging transformation programs that excelled the technical operational performance of STC communication services. Prior to joining STC, Al-Faraj was chief technology operations officer at Etihad Etisalat, Mobily Co. He spent 11 years with Mobily holding various leadership positions for infrastructure and service management operations after having spent four years working for Saudi Aramco. He gained a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran and has also taken part in several executive leadership programs from Harvard Business School, INSEAD and other institutes.