Karim Benkirane

  • 3rd Oct 2025

Mr. Karim Benkirane is the Chief Commercial Officer at du, where he is responsible for driving the company’s commercial strategy and customer-facing operations across multiple segments. His remit spans Mass, Home and Premium, Soho and SE, ME and LE segments, Government and Key Accounts, Virgin Mobile UAE, as well as Products, Brand and Marketing Communication, and International Wholesale.

Karim brings over two decades of international telecommunications experience, with deep expertise across digital, retail, wholesale, and technology services. Prior to his current role, he served as Managing Director of Virgin Mobile UAE, where he led the launch of the region’s first fully digital mobile service, delivering a disruptive, customer-first experience. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Mobile Saudi Arabia, where he oversaw the market entry and expansion of the Virgin Mobile and FRiENDi brands, launching the Kingdom’s first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) with a mobile-first strategy.

Earlier in his career, Karim held executive roles in Europe, including Chief Executive Officer of KPN France and Chief Commercial Officer at Telecom Italia in France, contributing to commercial growth and operational transformation in highly competitive markets. He currently serves on the board of du Pay, the fintech arm of the Company.

He holds an Executive MBA from HEC Paris and has completed executive programmes at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.