BUSINESS INSIGHTS
EMPATHY ENGINEERED: HOW e & PLACES THE HUMAN AT THE HEART OF INNOVATION
In the UAE’ s fast-moving digital landscape, Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, CEO of e & UAE, is redefining the role of telecoms – where Artificial Intelligence doesn’ t replace people but better understands them.
There was a time, not so long ago, when telecom providers were little more than silent workhorses— keeping people connected, dropping signals in tunnels and issuing cryptic bills that few could decode. However, Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, the CEO of e & UAE, makes it clear that the business of connection has undergone a philosophical transformation.
It is no longer merely about bandwidth— it is about belonging. Mahmood conveys the organisation’ s vision with the calm precision of a leader who understands the significance of the scale. However, when he discusses AI and customer experience, his tone becomes more personal.
“ The role of telecoms has fundamentally evolved,” he said.“ It’ s no longer just about networks. It’ s about trust. It’ s about relevance. It’ s about impacting people’ s lives.” Under his leadership, e & UAE has transformed from a traditional telecom operator into a digital lifestyle powerhouse.
The organisation now operates in a country where the population is digitally native, expectations are sky-high and convenience is assumed. In 2024, e & was named the
Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, CEO of e & UAE
‘ Customer-Obsessed Enterprise of the Year’ by Forrester— a recognition Mahmood accepts as a reflection rather than an award.“ It validates what we’ ve always known,” he said.“ No matter how advanced your technology, the only thing that truly matters is the human impact it creates.”
That philosophy now shapes every facet of the customer journey at e & UAE. From onboarding and support to content discovery and proactive care, AI is no longer in the background— it is the backbone of the experience. Yet what makes the company’ s approach striking is its insistence that AI serves not only efficiency but empathy.
Treating each customer as a market of one
Hyper-personalisation defines the shape of this strategy.“ People don’ t want a generic service,” Mahmood said.“ They want to feel understood without having to explain themselves.” For a business with over 15 million customers, that might seem ambitious. However, with AI, Mahmood insists it is now entirely possible to deliver meaningful, individual experiences— at scale.
The company’ s digital infrastructure reads like a playbook in real-time responsiveness. AI analyses user behaviour, anticipates needs and fine-tunes every interaction— whether it’ s a recommendation, a notification or a reward.“ We’ ve moved beyond one-size-fits-all,” he said.“ AI enables us to move from reaction to anticipation.”
This shift is perhaps most visible in the firm’ s autonomous retail experiences. In
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