Grahame Maher

Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Qatar

When Grahame Maher first started his career he had no idea that he would become a key figure in the success of Vodafone's worldwide operations. In fact before he rose through the ranks of Vodafone he was watching bread rise in his first job as a baker. Working at night and riding around Australia on his motorbike by day may seem pretty cool, but it wasn't for him.

Luckily for us Grahame decided he wanted his own business and turned his entrepreneurial skills to developing and launching one of the first Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) in Australia. He and his business partner sold the company to Vodafone in 1996. It wasn't long before he was leading the team in Vodafone New Zealand where, in just three years, it increased Vodafone's local market share from 16% to 53%.

After that he took up the post of Chief Executive Officer at Vodafone Australia, which is a very competitive market. The company hadn't been profitable, but with his ‘can do' attitude, he helped turn around their fortunes and reduced costs by over 50% and revenue growth of 20% per annum. For the first time in it's history, Vodafone Australia was a roaring success.

He changed hemispheres (and climate!) to become CEO of Vodafone Sweden where he succeeded in stabilising the struggling Swedish business by cooking up a plan to secure the future of Vodafone in Scandinavia by developing a sale and partnership model with Telenor Nordic.

Grahame's goal has always been to show that businesses can make a real difference if they are led differently. He reckons the most important part of any organisation is its people. This became apparent when he strayed slightly further South to become CEO of Vodafone Czech Republic. The Czech group became famous for its innovative ideas and for daring to act differently, scooping heaps of awards for everything from its advertising to its employment policies. Its strong local brand positioning and success has made it a role model across the group.

Now, as CEO of Vodafone Qatar, Grahame wants to continue with his goal of "making the world a better place by helping people achieve their personal best" and changing the way businesses are run globally. This is the first time that Vodafone has broken into the GCC market. But with a purpose and values based approach he is looking forward to the exciting journey ahead and really making a difference.

These days when he is not working, Grahame prefers to hit the road with his feet rather than with his motorbike, he loves long distance running. HE also loves exploring the world with his wife Jenny and two daughters Jessica (24) and Kate (21).