Born on: June 25, 1959
Nationality: Moroccan
Marital status: Married, 2 children

Ahmed Toumi is the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO), an intergovernmental organization of 148 countries that ensures the provision of international satellite public services. Mr. Toumi, a citizen of Morocco, was elected to his position by the member countries of ITSO in 2001. Prior to his position with ITSO, Mr. Toumi has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications, having served in various senior managerial and engineering positions with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. He was member of the Task High Level Committee that conducted the liberalization and privatisation of the Telecommunications sector in Morocco.

CAREER

From 1991 until 2001, Mr. Toumi served as the Director for Studies and Planning, by Royal Appointment, for the Office of Prime Minister in Morocco. In this position, Mr. Toumi was responsible for the privatization of the telecommunications sector in Morocco. As head of the Studies and Planning Directorate, Mr. Toumi was the Moroccan negotiator for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Basic Telecommunications and Value-Added  Telecommunications Services (VAS). Mr. Toumi liaised with the European Commission to evaluate the impact of European Directives for new information technologies on Morocco’s economic environment. He also was actively involved in international telecommunications policy in several international telecommunications organizations, including the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat), INTELSAT, and EUTELSAT.

From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Toumi was the Deputy Director for Telecommunications in the Moroccan Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, where one of  his primary responsibilities was to ensure that telecommunications services in Morocco were phased-out from the government to the private sector.

From 1982 to 1985, Mr. Toumi participated in the introduction of new technologies into the Moroccan telecommunications network, including digital switching systems and SCPC technology. He also was responsible for operations and strengthening of the space communications infrastructure.

Mr. Toumi has actively participated in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) activities since 1983. In 1998, Mr. Toumi was elected to the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Minneapolis. The RRB consists of 12 elected members, and is charged with  drafting procedural rules and arbitrating international disputes relating to utilization of the radio frequency spectrum and orbital locations for  geostationary satellites.

EDUCATION

Mr. Toumi received a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, Paris, France in 1982. He specialized in telecommunications and aerospace systems at the École Nationale Supérieure de l’Aéronautiques et de l’Espace, Toulouse, France in 1982.

Mr. Toumi has published several articles on the liberalization and reform of the Posts and Telecommunications sector. Since 1997, he has been a member of the Council and the Mayor of the Sidi Aissa Benslimane Commune at El Kelaa des Sraghna in Morocco. He is a member of many national and international associations, including the Paris Association of Telecom Engineers (AIST) (France), the Moroccan National Foreign Trade Council, and the Moroccan Inter-Ministerial National Economic Planning Committee.