Podcast

Ep 119 – The 4 Strategic Imperatives Turning Etisalat into Tech Company e& (Harrison Lung)

July 7, 2025

This week’s guest

Harrison Lung

Group Chief Strategy Officer etisalat and

The telecommunications industry is at a crossroads, with strategic opportunities ready to reshape how operators generate revenue and compete. From network APIs, to GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), to moving networks to the public cloud, telcos are weighing big bets that require capital and focus. The real challenge isn’t identifying opportunities—it’s knowing which ones to pursue and which to walk away from.

In this episode, I’m talking with Harrison Lung, group chief strategy officer at e& (formerly Etisalat). We’re going to dive into e&’s four strategic pillars, Harrison’s take on the big strategy ideas in our industry, and how the operator is applying AI behind the scenes.

Listen now to hear:

e&’s plans for the next five years, including its 4D strategic framework [04:15];
Harrison’s take on network APIs, GPUaaS, and cloud-native networks [08:37];
Keys to driving strategic success [11:25]; and
The exciting new AI use cases e& is putting to the test [13:44].

Links and resources

Read more about Etisalat’s rebranding to e&.
Check out Harrison’s 2024 year-end wrap up of e&’s transformative progress.
Read Aduna’s announcement about e& becoming an equity partner in its global network API venture.
Learn about how e& is using AI in the Careem Super App to ensure quicker food delivery times.
Is your telco ready to drive strategic success? Check out my blogs for tips: So, you want to be a tech-co? and Telco’s shift to the public cloud gets real.
If you’ve ever visited the UAE, you can’t have missed the iconic twinkling golf balls above the e& buildings—those magical spheres that shimmer like stars against the night sky, each one housing 940 tiny lenses and optical fibers that create their mesmerizing starry effect. I forgot to ask Harrison if e& will keep these beloved tributes to Etisilat!
Check out this episode on our YouTube channel.
You can find the episode transcript here.

Wanna talk AI and public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.

Guest bio

Harrison Lung is the group chief strategy officer at e&. He was appointed in May 2023 and oversees corporate strategy and planning, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital, Group transformation, ESG and sustainability. With over two decades of experience in the telecom and technology sectors, Harrison is directly collaborating with e&’s management team and board of directors to develop the overall business strategy, set the direction of the Group and develop plans to achieve e&’s business objectives.

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