Quick Facts
Biography
Mahdi Yahya (born August 1987) is a Lebanese telecommunications executive, founder, and CEO of SAMA Telecom.
SAMA Telecom operates the international telecoms gateway into Iraq. As CEO, Yahya has overseen the development of the company into one of the major wholesale telecoms carriers in the MENA region. The company carries traffic through nodes in London and Frankfurt and terminates more than 1 billion voice minutes per year.
Yahya is also President of Room One in London, the design and technology lab in London, and production company Room One Films, headed by Czech director Michal Samir. Yahya is also the majority shareholder of virtual reality headset designer and manufacturer Opto. Yahya is a Board Member of FINCA International, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Middle East and North African Acquisition Committee at The Tate.