Batelco CEO resigns and is temporarily replaced by Kaliaropoulos

Batelco Group, which has suffered a sustained profit slump, said Sheikh Mohamed bin Isa al-Khalifa had resigned as chief executive and his predecessor would temporarily re-assume the helm.

Sheikh Mohamed became CEO of Batelco in October 2011, having previously served as deputy chairman. He replaced long-serving Peter Kaliaropoulos, who became group CEO for Strategic Assignments.

Batelco has now appointed Kaliaropoulos as chief operating officer and he, along with a three-person committee, will lead the telecom operator until a new CEO is hired, it said in a statement. The committee is comprised of three members of the company’s board.

Sheikh Mohamed has left the company with immediate effect. Batelco did not give a reason for his departure, but he was unable to halt a profit slump that the company largely blamed on tougher competition at home.

It competes with units of Zain and STC as well as about 10 Internet providers.

Batelco, majority government-owned, has reported declining profits in 11 of the past 12 quarters, with 2012 net profit down 22.2 per cent year-on-year.