Dr. Ismaeel Makdisi

Dr. Makdisi, who was appointed Acting CEO of Intigral last month, talks about the company’s new growth strategy

Congratulations on your new role. I am assuming you have come with a new mandate to Intigral?

My mandate at this critical juncture of the company is to move Intigral forward in the value chain to become the leading digital product company in the MENA region, where innovation and delivery are the key drivers. We have become very successful as the region’s digital content aggregator and are now expanding from just being a content aggregator to being a product company. On the other hand, we are also looking to expand beyond the Middle East and North Africa. As an end-to-end content aggregator, we plan to build on and manage all value-added services on behalf of telcos while also working closely with product developers and content producers.

What products are you planning to launch?

So far, we have brought on board products and platforms from other companies. Now, we intend to develop applications for connected devices such as smart TVs, tablets or smart phones, where we will be focusing on core convergence. We will be able to take Over the Top (OTT) services to the next level as we have ongoing strategic partnerships with some leading players in the region. We are keen on pushing Intigral to become the leading digital media company in terms of convergence, product delivery, exploring the prospects of going B2C as opposed to being B2B2C particularly in terms of mobile products, smart devices and OTT.

What specific skills do you bring to the table?

I have worked in the media industry for many years both in the United States and the MENA region. I have worked closely with prominent companies such as Google, Apple and Samsung, where we were trying to keep our competitive edge in the market by not just bringing the right technology and the right platform but also customising the experience to suit the needs of the region. We worked with telcos in the region on billing, convergence and bundling services enabling them to better monetise these value added services as their margins are higher on such services. We can provide an end-to-end solution for telcos so they can focus on their core business.

Any exclusive news you can share with us?

We are about to launch a major sports portal for a telco, bringing to the table one of the most prominent digital media and product developer companies in Europe that serve the Champions League, FIFA, the Olympics and so on. We have partnered with them and will provide new technologies for live streaming and portals to the region. This will be launched before the end of this year or early next year. We are bringing the kind of experience that people have in Europe as far as sports events are concerned.

We are talking about full convergence here, where people will be able to watch sports anywhere and everywhere on their tablets, smart phones, on the web and on TV. It’s only the size of the screen that will differ. One can start a game at home, continue it in his car and finish the game in a café with someone else all on devices with the same customer experience.