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Jacques Rodolphe Saadé (; 7 February 1937 – 24 June 2018) was a French-Lebanese billionaire businessman. He was the founder and chairman of the CMA CGM, a French
container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
transportation and shipping company, the fourth largest in the world as of June 2020.


Biography

Jacques R. Saadé was born on 7 February 1937 in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, Lebanon, and spent his childhood in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. His father, Rodolph, was a Syrian entrepreneur from
Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...
, Syria, while his mother, Odette Nauphal, was Lebanese. He graduated from the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
in 1957 and took over the family business after the death of his father. His father had "established plants in Syria, we were producing tobacco, cottonseed, olive oil, ice, etc." Based on his father's advice, Saadé did an internship in New York to learn about shipping after his graduation. This is where he discovered the container (capacity: one cubic metre) used by the American army during the Vietnam War. In a Les Echos article, Saadé said: "I thought the
container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
was an excellent idea for transporting goods as it was closed, easy and quick." The 1978 war in Lebanon prompted him to move to
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
. This is where he set up ''Compagnie maritime d’affrètement'' (CMA) with his brother Johnny on September 13 of the same year. The company initially operated services between Marseille, Beirut and Syria. Saadé said: "''I wanted the sea. Marseille is beautiful and the sea looks a little like that in Beirut.''" In the beginning, there was family tension between Jacques Saadé and his brother Johnny. After difficult family disputes, Jacques took the helm alone. "Qu'il y ait introduction en Bourse ou non, la famille gardera le contrôle." In 1983, Saadé made the decision to cross the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
and extend the company lines to Mina-Qaboos in the
Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with th ...
. Jacques Saadé was trying to prepare the company for the "Far East" to win a competitive advantage over other carriers. In 1986, after noticing that volumes from Asia were constantly on the rise, he decided to extend CMA's shipping lines to Asia (including Japan). He later traveled to China himself in 1992 to open the first regional office in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, entrusting the management of the company's development in Asia to John Wang, a professor at the Shanghai Maritime University. In 1996 Saadé acquired CGM (Compagnie Générale Maritime) following privatization. Two years later in 1998 came the acquisition by CMA of the National Australian Line ANL and in the following year 1999 merger of CMA and CGM and creation of the CMA CGM Group. In 2006, Saadé concluded the acquisition of DELMAS and the CMA CGM Group became the third-largest shipping Group in the world. Three additional acquisitions were made in 2007: Chinese Company Cheng Lie Navigation Ltd, U.S. Lines, and COMANAV. The shipping industry was affected by the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
and the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
. Jacques R. Saadé was opposed to breaking up the Group. Supported by his son
Rodolphe Saadé Rodolphe Saadé (; ; born 3 March 1970) is a Franco-Lebanese businessman. He is the chairman of the CMA CGM, CMA CGM Group, a world leader in logistics transport, and the son of its founder, Jacques Saadé. As of April 2024, his net worth was e ...
, and daughter Tanya Saadé, he was convinced the container transport sector would bounce back. In 2010, CMA CGM signed an agreement with the family-run industrial Turkish group YILDIRIM. The agreement enabled the Group to strengthen its financial structure and secure finance for its investment plans. This also later led him to invest, notably in building the Group's first three 16,000 teu vessels: the CMA CGM Marco Polo, the CMA CGM Alexander Von Humboldt, and the CMA CGM Jules Verne. In 2011, he built the Group's headquarters in Marseille: the CMA CGM Tower designed by
Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...
, 147m in height with 33 floors. Today the CMA CGM Group is the city's biggest employer (2,400 staff). In June 2013, and for the first time since 1962, it was the President of the French Republic,
François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...
, welcomed by Saadé, who inaugurated the CMA CGM Jules Verne, flagship of the CMA CGM fleet at the time. The French President met Jacques Saadé again in 2015 for the inauguration of the CMA CGM Bougainville in Port of Le Havre. In 2017, Saadé appointed his son Rodolphe as CEO of CMA CGM. Later that year, Rodolphe Saadé became chairman too, with Saadé becoming founder chairman. In 2018, Forbes Magazine listed Saade’s net worth at 7 billion Euros, making him the 228th richest man in the world at that time. Saade died on 24 June 2018, at the age of 81.


Notable achievements

* In 1986, he becomes president of the Franco-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce (later honorary president). * Between 2006 and 2010, he was president of the France-Ukraine committee . * In 2007, Saadé's career is singled out by the international magazine
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, which votes him shipping's ‘Personality of the Year’. He is also awarded by the Naval Academy (Manley-Bendall prize) and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria (an Honorary Degree). * In 2009, he was named an Officer of the French Legion of Honor. * In 2010 he becomes President of the France-Jordan Council of Business Leaders, * In 2012, he received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the magazine Containerization International (now owned by
Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and i ...
) * In 2013, Saadé was made an honorary citizen of the City of Marseille, joining directors of companies like
Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...
,
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, Orange and
Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard () is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis (often referred to simply as ''Pernod'' or '' Ricard''). The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produ ...
. * In 2014, he received an honorary doctorate from the
Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU; ) is a secular private American university with campuses in Beirut, Byblos, and New York. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New York and is recognized by the Lebane ...
(LAU). He also received the same year an award for encouraging the economic development of the Mediterranean Basin, as well as conveying a positive image of the area and promoting peace and tolerance worldwide, from the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME). * In 2015, he was named a Commander of the French Legion of Honor.


Statements and actions regarding the environment

On the environment front, Saadé declared: ''"Our growth and a responsible attitude cannot be dissociated when facing the issues of our modern societies. CMA CGM must lead by example in terms of environmental protection, whether it be by acting against climate change or by preserving the maritime environment."'' One of the reasons he was awarded the "Containerization International Lifetime Achievement Award" was for ''"being one of the first lines to use innovative technologies as a means of helping reduce emissions, thereby reducing his company's impact on the environment."'' He chose to equip his fleet with new large capacity vessels fitted with the latest green technologies. These vessels, combined with various other actions, allowed the group to reduce by 50% its carbon emissions per shipped container per km on its owned fleet between 2007 and 2015, confirming an objective set in 2007. On 1 June 2020 the master of a container ship APL England, Mohamad Zulkhaili Bin Alias, owned by CMA CGM & ANL (Singapore) lost about 50 containers overboard caused by poor cargo loading by the ships captain Mohamad Zulkhaili Bin Alias. The Australian Marine Safety Authority ordered $22 million from the ship's insurers under the Protection of the Seas Act, which must be paid before the ship will be released from detention at the Port of Brisbane. This money covers estimated clean-up and remediation costs.


Family business model

When writing an article about family capitalism, Aymeric Dewimille wrote: "''Loyally supported by his son Rodolphe, now Executive Officer in the Group, and his daughter Tanya, head of communications and on the Board of Directors, Jacques Saadé is totally committed to human values that traditionally underpin the governance of family-run companies... While the family-run company may not necessarily be called upon to save capitalism, one thing is proven, the family spirit can save companies.''" The CMA CGM attitude has garnered the attention of the Anglo-Saxon analysts at
Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and i ...
. In its 11 July 2011 edition, the British daily, a reference in the shipping industry, highlighted the fact that "''with the support of a solid family network, Jacques R. Saadé fought tooth and nail during the crisis, keeping the creditors at bay, juggling the order books and deployment of his fleet, and having the courage to reject several potential investors waiting for a partner that does not interfere in the way he runs the company''". However, according to these British analysts, his tenacity paid off – the CMA CGM Group has since returned to profit. The daily French financial newspaper Les Echos said in 2011: "''Many observers thought CMA CGM would not recover from the losses suffered two years ago, while Jacques R. Saadé said he always knew his company would survive.''" Inclined to vote for the family-run way of managing the business, the board is attracted by the boost to the portfolio that an IPO would bring about. The possibility has been alluded to officially in 2013, with the proviso that the Saadé family would keep control.


CMA CGM key figures

Today, the CMA CGM Group is the world's 3rd largest container shipping company and No.1 in France. With a fleet of 489 vessels, it serves more than 420 ports worldwide and carried around 15.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) - estimated - in 2016. Present on all continents and in 160 countries through its 775 offices, it employs 29,000+ people including 4,500 in France. Revenue for 2016 is US$16.0 billion.


References


External links


Biography of Jacques Saadé on the CMA CGM Blog

Biography of Jacques R. Saadé at CMA CGM

Jacques Saadé & Family - Forbes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saade, Jacques 1937 births 2018 deaths Businesspeople in shipping French businesspeople in shipping French people of Syrian descent French people of Lebanese descent Officers of the National Order of the Cedar Officers of the Legion of Honour French billionaires