At its meeting today, Deutsche Telekom’s Supervisory Board appointed Ferri Abolhassan (59) as new member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management for T-Systems. Abolhassan, who holds a doctorate in computer science, succeeds Adel Al-Saleh on January 1, 2024. Adel Al-Saleh had asked for his contract to be terminated because he is to become the new CEO of Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. Abolhassan was previously Managing Director Sales and Service and in this role was responsible for Telekom’s sales and service activities in Germany. A decision on his successor will be made soon.
Frank Appel, Chairman of Deutsche Telekom’s Supervisory Board, said: “We would like to thank Adel Al-Saleh for his successful work in the transformation of T-Systems. We wish him all the best and much success for his new career step. In Ferri Abolhassan, we have found a proven expert in digitalisation, cloud, security and AI for this challenging position. He knows T-Systems through his many years as Managing Director and – with over 20 years of experience in IT – brings the necessary expertise to successfully continue Adel Al-Saleh’s work.”
I am looking forward to working with the T-Systems team and the tasks ahead. Adel and his team have done excellent work over the past six years, which we will continue together with the team. I leave the Sales and Service organisation with a tear in my eye. I am proud of what the Sales and Service team has accomplished over the past few years. It is a great team. We have lived up to the Group’s claim to leadership and offer the best service. That’s also my aspiration for my new role at T-Systems.
Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom: “I would like to thank Adel for his work and commitment in mastering the difficult transformation of recent years. Today, T-Systems has a clear strategy and is well equipped for further growth. Ferri will build on this. He stands for continuity. We have found a strong internal successor for this challenging task. He knows how to operate in growth markets and to achieve long-term success. Over the past seven years, he has developed Deutsche Telekom’s service into the best service in Germany. The number of customer complaints dropped by over 90 per cent since Ferri took over. He is a proven expert in the growth areas of IT: digitalisation, cloud, security and AI. He knows T-Systems and the industry extremely well. I have been working closely and trustfully with him for years. I am delighted to continue this collaboration with him in his new role. He is a reinforcement and enrichment for the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management team.”
Ferri Abolhassan can look back on a career in IT spanning more than twenty years. He studied at Saarland University and holds a doctorate in computer science. He began his professional career in the research and development department of Siemens in Munich and then moved to IBM in San Jose (USA). From 1992, he held various management positions at software manufacturer SAP, most recently as Senior Vice President of the global Retail Solutions business unit. After four years in the management of IDS Scheer as Co-CEO and Co-Chairman, Abolhassan returned to SAP in 2005. There, he most recently held the position of Executive Vice President Large Enterprise EMEA. In 2008, Abolhassan moved to T-Systems as a member of the Management Board, where he took over the Systems Integration division. From 2010, Abolhassan led the Production division until 2013, when he was responsible for the entire Delivery. From 2015, he headed the IT division with around 30,000 employees and 4,000 customers. From December 2015 to November 2016, Abolhassan was also responsible for setting up the Telekom Security business unit. The unit bundles all IT security areas in the Deutsche Telekom Group. In October 2016, he moved to Telekom Deutschland as Managing Director, heading the newly created Service business unit with around 33,000 service employees. In April 2017, Abolhassan became Managing Director of Deutsche Telekom Kundenservice GmbH (DTKS), which changed its name to Deutsche Telekom Service GmbH (DTS) on July 1, 2017. At the same time, he became Managing Director of Deutsche Telekom Technischer Service GmbH (DTTS), which changed its name to Deutsche Telekom Außendienst GmbH (DTA) on July 1. On May 1, 2021, Ferri Abolhassan was given additional responsibility for Telekom Deutschland's Privatkunden Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH (PVG) in addition to responsibility for service. PVG comprises the stationary retail and partner retail channels. In April 2022, he moved from the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom Außendienst GmbH (DTA) to its Supervisory Board as Chairman. Abolhassan is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom IT GmbH and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Among other things, he is involved on a voluntary basis in the Saarland Ambassador Initiative of the Saarland federal state government. He is also a member of the Saarland Digitalisation Council, an advisory body to the federal state government. Abolhassan is the author of numerous reference books.
