MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Salvador was appointed as the Optasia’s Chief Executive Officer in 2025. He brings over 30 years of international leadership experience across the telecommunications, technology, and fintech sectors.  
 
Prior to joining Optasia, Salvador served as CEO of e& enterprise, where he led the carve-out and rapid expansion of the enterprise arm of e& (formerly Etisalat Group). Under his leadership, the company executed an accelerated growth strategy built on targeted M&A and strategic partnerships.  
 
Earlier in his career, Salvador served as Group Chief Business Officer at e& for eight years, following over a decade with Telefónica. There, he held senior leadership roles including CEO of Telefónica O2 in the Czech Republic and Managing Director of Telefónica Empresas in Spain.  
 
Salvador currently serves on the boards of Bakcell and RAKEZ. He holds an Industrial Engineering master’s degree from UPM, an Executive MBA from IE, and a PDG from IESE Business School.

Mariusz joined Optasia in 2020 as the Chief Financial Officer. He has more than 25 years of experience in managing finance operations in various corporates and banking and insurance consulting firms globally.  
 
Most recently, he was the Group CFO at Kreditech Siemens Network in Germany from 2018 to 2020. Before that, he was CFO at Home Credit in India from 2016 to 2018.  
Mariusz holds a Master’s degree from SGW Warsaw School of Economics (Canadian Executive MBA Program) and a Master’s degree in Finance and Banking from the Faculty of Economics at the Academy of Economics in Katowice, Poland. 

Yannis is an expert in digital and financial inclusion with a strong passion for disruptive technologies and business models as well as a deep knowledge of the innovative solutions Optasia offers. He currently leads the Mobile Financial Services segment of Optasia.  
 
Yannis previously held positions as both Chief Commercial and Chief Product Officer in the past decade at Optasia, as well as Chief Commercial Officer for Ezra, while he also founded fintech startup Wiza in Dubai in 2020. He also held the Pre-Sales & Product Manager position for Upstream.  
 
Yannis holds a PhD in Electronics & Electrical Engineering from University College London (UCL) and has successfully completed MBA courses in the communications industry, finance, entrepreneurship and strategy at London Business School. 

Uchenna has been a part of Optasia’s successful growth for 14 years having served in various roles at an executive level, including as Chief Operations Officer, prior to her appointment as Chief Commercial Officer in 2023.  
 
Uchenna has over two decades of business experience in the technology and telecommunications industries, including as a business IT consultant at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Network Rail UK.  
 
She holds a Global Executive MBA degree from the TRIUM Program; NYU Stern school of business, HEC Paris and the London School of Economics, a Master of Science degree (MSc) in Business Information Technology from Middlesex University UK and Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. 

Antoine joined the Group in 2015 as the Chief Technology & Innovation Officer and currently leads the Optasia’s Technology Department.  
 
He has more than 25 years of experience in the mobile marketing and advertising and software industry. Prior to joining Optasia, Antoine founded MobileMedia in 2005, a business-to-business provider of integrated solutions offering its services through an on-demand, software-as-a-service model. 
 
Antoine holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Crete. 

Stelios joined Optasia in 2016 as the Big Data and Analytics Director and became the Chief Data and Risk Officer in 2018.  
 
Stelios has more than 20 years of experience in building and guiding the development of result-driven algorithms and machine learning solutions in various application fields. This experience has been incorporated or lies at the core of many of Optasia’s innovative products and services.  
 
Prior to joining Optasia, Stelios was a Research and Development Specialist at MobileMedia, one of the pioneer companies in mobile marketing, between 2011 and 2015.  
He holds a Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Crete. 

Faysal joined Optasia in 2012 as the General Manager (Sales). He became the Chief Customer Officer in 2015 and held this position until 2017. Faysal became the Chief Commercial Officer in 2017, and the Chief Business Development Officer in 2024.  
 
He has more than 15 years of experience in account management. Prior to joining the Group, he worked as a Senior Account Manager at Nokia Siemens Networks in Dubai from 2010 to 2012 and as a Professional Service Manager at DU Telecom in Dubai from 2006 to 2010.  
 
Faysal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Systems Engineering from the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Blanca Alonso leads Optasia’s global strategic agenda, shaping long-term priorities, driving transformation programmes, and enabling scalable growth across markets.  
She has over 15 years of international experience across the technology, telecoms and financial services industries.  
 
Before joining Optasia, Blanca led the strategy function at e& enterprise, where she was instrumental in the carve-out and creation of the company as the B2B digital arm of e&.  
Blanca holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) and Technische Universität München (TUM), and a Business Management Masters degree from Universidad Pontificia de Comillas. 

James has a proven track record of over 25 years in leadership positions at various multinational technology companies. He is driving transformation initiatives across diverse markets and implementing new operating models through his role as Chief Operations Officer for Optasia.  
 
He has previously held General Manager positions in MTN both in South Africa and Nigeria, Regional VP positions in Nokia and Regional General Manager positions for Devices in Microsoft, and also served as Regional VP for HMD Global.  
 
James holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Investment Science from the University of Johannesburg, and an MBA in Innovation from Bond University. 

Anne-Marie joined Optasia in 2026 and leads Optasia’s global people agenda.

She has over 20 years’ experience partnering with founders and executive teams at companies including Cisco, Uber, Google, Salary Finance and M-KOPA, building leadership structures, people systems and organizational capability needed to scale sustainably. At Uber she led HR across 14 countries through IPO preparation. At Cisco she supported a $1bn engineering group, contributing to a 35% EBITDA improvement. She later built 0-1 HR infrastructure as Chief People Officer at Salary Finance and M-KOPA.  She also founded Workforce Buddy a consulting practice supporting scaling companies and underrepresented founders with practical people strategy and fractional CPO expertise.

Anne-Marie has a history of philanthropic work, particularly within education and youth development, reflecting a lifelong commitment to STEM education and widening access to opportunity.  She is an Independent Member of the Remuneration Committee at the University of Warwick and a Founding Board Member of the Powered by Africa Campaign Movement.

She holds a PGDip in Human Resource Management from London Metropolitan University and a BA Hons in Psychology and Business Studies from the Manchester Metropolitan University.