Ms Muna Nijem is Chairman and CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. She was appointed to the TRC by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb on November 1, 2002 as the Chairman of the new Commission, which was created by the Council of Ministers in 2002. Ms. Nijem plays the dual role of CEO of the telecommunications regulatory agency as well as chairman of its board of commissioners.

During her tenure at the TRC, Ms. Nijem has dedicated her efforts to recreating the organization to meet the many significant challenges it faces under the new telecommunications law. Ms. Nijem has guided the Commission to implement a number of major regulatory initiatives to implement the government’s policy and King Abdullah II’s vision of an ICT-enabled economy for Jordan. Under her leadership, the TRC has developed new rules and procedures to foster the development of competition and to encourage innovation and efficiency in the ICT sector. Significant steps taken by the TRC under her leadership include the licensing of an additional mobile operator and opening the fixed telecommunications services market to competition.

Ms. Nijem has also spearheaded the development of the Arab Telecommunications Regulators Network, an association of telecommunications regulators dedicated to sharing expertise and developing common positions on regulatory issues. Ms. Nijem chaired the Network for a one-year term, starting in March 2004. Ms. Nijem also chaired numerous seminars and public forums on telecommunications, including her chairmanship of the Global Symposium for Regulators in 2003 and chair of the Liberalization Working Group at the Global Symposium for Regulators in 2004.

Prior to joining the TRC, Ms. Nijem worked with the United Nations and other intemational organizations, as well as a global technology executive for businesses in the United States. Most recently, she held the position of Director of Next Generation Technologies at Motorola, where she was responsible for positioning the business at the lead of the technology curve and for developing the case for new business strategies and identifying key market trends. Prior to her work at Motorola, Ms. Nijem was Director of Advanced Technology for Ameritech, where she managed the deployment of Ameritech’s digital cellular system and later led the company’s effort to create new high-speed wireless technologies for deployment in Ameritech’s network.

Ms. Nijem’s work at the U.N. involved her serving as a technical advisor and project leader on projects which focused on developing strategies, coordinating technology transfer and providing advisory services to emerging countries on a variety of high-level and long-term technology projects.

Before she began working with the U.N., Ms Nijem founded and ran a start-up information systems consulting firm. The firm focused on the development of IT systems to analyze large volumes of data and on market research and competitive intelligence. Ms. Nijem’s early experience was as a Senior Design Engineer with leading global telecommunications firms, including Texas Instruments and Litton Resources.

Ms. Nijem is a member of the ICT Advisory Council, Queen Rania’s Committee on the Arab Women’s Summit, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), 3GPP2 and other industry associations.

Ms. Nijem holds an Executive MBA, with Honors, from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, with Honors, from Cairo University.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

ICT National Regulator; Next Generation Tech Strategist; Telco Development Specialist

• Government official and multinational executive; combining US business experience with a global market perspective.

• Strategic planner, business developer and project manager in technology and regulation.

• Garnered solid experience in technology development, communication services, technology consulting and systems integration from start-up to multinational corporations.

• Strong regulation credentials and adopter of international best practices.

• Market expertise in Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and entrepreneurial ventures.

• MBA and engineering degrees and member of Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), 3GPP2 and other industry associations.

• Fluent in Arabic and English.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2002-Present

Chairman and CEO, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION, Amman, Jordan (www.trc.gov.jo)

Head of the Middle East’s most advanced telecommunications regulatory body.

Transforming the institution into a new era of independence from the rest of the government and into a regional leader, and focusing intently on fostering competition and investment in the telecommunications market in Jordan.

Internal focus on institutional strengthening, raising regulatory standards and setting benchmarks for excellence in government.

• Regulatory decision-making

- Opening fixed telecommunications market completely for free competition.

- Instituting innovative integrated licensing program for all telecommunications operators.

- Licensed third mobile telecommunications operator.

- Licensed first radio-trunking operator.

- Licensed innovative new services.

- Successfully launched best-practice guidelines for interconnection.

- Established new Numbering Plan.

- Refocused agency to be more consumer-centric.

• Development of Centre of Excellence

- Instituted change to corporate management culture and motivation of local staff.

- Established high-standards for ethical and transparent decision-making.

• Development of Arab Telecommunications Regulatory Network

- Spearheaded creation of an association of regulators dedicated to sharing expertise and developing common positions on regulatory issues.

- In March 2004 the first ATRN General Assembly elected Ms. Nijem Chairman for a year.

• Active cooperation with ITU Centre for Excellence

- Chaired regional workshops on universal access and universal service.

- Organized regional workshops on regulation and liberating the market.

• Cooperation with ITU

- Chaired the Global Symposium of Regulators 2003.

- Delivered the GSR statement to the World Summit on Information Society.

- Led workshop on “Licensing Tomorrow” at GSR 2004.

• ICT and Gender Issues

- Led workshop on ICT and gender issues at the GSR 2003.

- Led regional workshop on ICT and Gender Equality at Arab Women’s Organization.

• Membership

- Computer Centre, The University of Jordan.

- Higher Council for Higher Education.

- Executive Committee of the Arab Women Organization.

2000-2002

Director of Strategy – North America, MOTOROLA, Schaumburg, IL

Part of a 30-person Global Strategy team to position Motorola as the market leader in emerging technologies and customer-driven practices. Focused efforts on identifying market trends, creating industry standards for migration to next generation platforms and prioritizing R&D requirements.

Lead a team of five subject matter experts.

• Market Perception & Direction

- Partnered with global telecommunications companies to evaluate, educate and promote 3G solutions.

- Co-authored four business plans that resulted in approval for $100m in funding.

• Business Repositioning

- Opened lines of communication across global operations to gain buy-in for new initiatives and align the business with the market.

- Instrumental in changing the entire direction for 3G migration to CDG supported IX EV path.

1995-2000

Director of Advanced Technology, AMERITECH CELLULLAR, Hoffman Estates, IL  (now Cingular Wireless)

Senior technical member of key pioneering company in the migration to 2G and 3G digital technology. Managed project lifecycles, teams and served as the industry expert on CDMA technology and standards.

• CDMA Development & Deployment

- Project lead and liaison to Lucent Technologies for the development, optimization and test of CDMA.

- Developed project strategies, planned equipment installations and performed tests on systems optimization, equipment and market clusters.

• 2G & 3G CDMA Migration

- Director of a nine person Advanced Technology Department team leading the migration from 2G wireless technology to CDMA2000 (3G). Developed new standards for the telecommunications industry.

- Led the CDG evolution team to develop benchmarking and interoperability criteria for migrating from 2G to 3G.

- Contributed to the development of the 3G Spectrum Policy Document (SPD), an international partnership of 3G CDMA developers focusing on global industry issues.

• Content & Technology

- Performed technical evaluations, developed business plans, cost analyses and market scenarios for e-Business plans and roll-out strategies for new satellite systems and a toolbox for smart antennas.

1989 to 1995

Technical Advisor & Project Leader, UNITED NATIONS, New York, NY

Contracted by the International Telecommunications Union and the United Nations to develop strategies, coordinate technology transfer and provide advisory services to emerging countries.

• Systems Upgrade & Training

- Managed a three-year, $100 million project for the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, developing and integrating communications systems for future hardware and software integration.

- Developed curriculum for an advanced microprocessor training program and trained 50 instructors.

• Enterprise-Wide Technology Integration

- Created the strategy, procedures and technical standards for a management tracking system to provide real-time information on government agencies to the Prime Ministry of Jordan.

• Data Tracking & Management

- Developed automation plan to computerize large personnel databases for the Jordan Employment Commission.

• Competitive Analysis & Market Positioning

- Performed situation analysis of the computer industry and market potential for Digital Equipment Corporation OEM in Jordan.

1982 to 1988

Managing Partner, CONSULTING CORP. FOR INFORMATICS

Founded a start-up information systems consulting firm providing turn-key solutions for processing market research and competitive intelligence. Secured contracts with government agencies and major corporations expanding their operations into Middle Eastern markets.

• Appointed to lead a nine-person executive team in Jordan driving a major initiative to computerize government systems creating standards for IT processes.

• Created systems integration strategies, developed vendor sourcing and evaluation standards and cross-trained key department heads in optimizing inter- and intra-divisional processes.

as a Senior Design Engineer with the International Telecommunications Union / United Nations, Texas Instruments, Litton Resources, Basic Four and Input/Output.

Key projects:

• Developed radio communication training programmes for internal systems technicians and operators for the Telecommunications Training Institute.

• Coordinated a multi-year design project during employment with Texas Instruments and Litton Resources to create a seismic data processing mechanism that translated geophysical data into electronic transmission codes.

• Executive MBA, March 2001 with Honors – UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, Chicago, Illinois

• Bachelor of Science, Electronics Engineering, with Honors, 1974 – CAIRO UNIVERSITY, Cairo, Egypt

• Internship, Marconi, Chelmsford, England