Jacques Saadé

Jacques Saadé

Jacques R. Saadé (Arabic: جاك سعادة) (born 1937) is a French-Lebanese born businessman, living in Marseille, France. He is the founder, group chairman, and chief executive officer of CMA CGM, a French container transportation and shipping company.

Biography

Jacques R. Saadé was born in 1937 in Beirut, Lebanon. He graduated from the London School of Economics 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, cotton seed, olive oil, ice, etc.”.

Based on his fathers advice, after graduation Saadé did an internship in New York to learn about shipping. There he discovered the container (capacity: one cubic metre) used by the American army. “I thought the container 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. There Saadé set up Compagnie maritime d’affrètement (CMA). Initially operating services between Marseille, Beirut and Syria. Saadé quickly made the decision to cross the Suez Canal. In the beginning there was family tension between Jacques Saadé and his brother Johnny. “Their private war was too passionate to be reduced to a simple question of pride or money. In reality, Johnny wanted to kill the more successful father figure he saw in Jacques,” says Antoine Sfeir, Managing Editor of Cahiers de l'Orient, who investigated their quarrel in 2013. After difficult family disputes, Jacques Saadé took the helm alone.

On the Mediterranean, Jacques Saadé settled in Marseille: “I wanted the sea. Marseille is beautiful and the sea looks a little like that in Beirut.” He made Marseille the Group’s headquarters: the CMA CGM Tower designed by Zaha Hadid, 147m in height with 33 floors. Today the CMA CGM Group is the city’s biggest employer (2,400 staff). Jacques R. Saadé was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of Marseille (January 2013), joining directors of companies like Eurocopter, Onet, Orange and Pernod Ricard.

Jacques R. Saadé is committed to building bridges between continents. Since 1986 he has been president of the Franco-Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. Since 2010 he has been President of the France-Jordan Council of Business Leaders, and been president of the France-Ukraine committee from 2006 to 2010. He is also an Officer of Lebanon’s Ordre du Cèdre and an Officer Commander of France’s Légion d’Honneur.

Key dates

In 1937 Jacques R. Saadé was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He graduated from the London School of Economics in 1957. The 1978 War in Lebanon moved Saadé to Marseilles where he founded the CMA (Compagnie Maritime d’Affrètement).

In 1992 the opening of an office in Shanghai marked China as the Group’s most important destination.

In 1996 Jacques Saadé acquired CGM (Compagnie Générale Maritime) following privatization. Two years later in 1998 came 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.

Then in 2004 The CMA CGM Group became the world’s fifth largest shipping company with Acquisition of The Compagnie des Iles du Ponant and Acquisition of Tapis Rouge.

2005 Acquisition by CMA CGM of the DELMAS group (Otal, Linea Setramar S.p.A., SudCargos) made the CMA CGM Group the world’s third largest shipping company and number one in France that year.

In 2006 the Group launched the construction of the 147 metre-high new headquarters building. 2006 also saw Alliance between CMA CGM and Veolia Environnement in rail transportation and Partnership with IBM to develop an even higher performance information system.

Three Acquisitions occurred in 2007; the Chinese Company Cheng Lie Navigation Ltd, the Moroccan company Comanav and the American company US Lines. Another Acquisition of the insurance Broker ARB in London took place in 2008. That year saw delivery of a new container ship of record high capacity of 11,000 teu and CMA CGM was named Company of the Year by International Freighting Weekly (IFW).

2009 saw delivery of the CMA CGM Andromeda, the first 11,400 ten container ship with green technology in favour of the environment, CMA CGM was awarded "Ocean Carrier of the Year" by the world N°1 retailer, Saadé was named Officer of the Legion d’Honneur and The Group took delivery of CMA CGM Christophe Colomb (13,300 teu), equipped with the latest environmental technologies.

In 2010 Jacques Saadé was appointed chairman of the board, The Group was rewarded with INTTRA Carrier of the Year and Sony Best Partner Carrier Award and on November 25, the Group signed an agreement with the family-run Turkish industrial group, Yildirim.

The following year, 2011 - Jacques Saadé was appointed group chairman and chief executive officer of CMA CGM Group and in September, CMA CGM was awarded "Company of the Year" by Lloyd’s List journal.

In 2012 Jacques Saadé received Lifetime Achievement Award from the magazine Containerisation International.

In January 2013 Jacques Saadé made Honorary Citizen of the City of Marseille and in June he received the Admiralitätsportugaleser, decoration from the City of Hamburg.

In 2014, Jacques Saadé receives an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from the Lebanese American University (LAU). It is a new year of development for the group. the Ocean Three alliance is signed with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and United Arab Company (UASC).

In 2015, he received the French Légion d'Honneur as an Officer Commander.

Captain of industry rewarded with Lifetime Achievement Award

First and foremost a visionary, recognised expert in global trade, his strategy of anticipating changes in the market, with the set-up in China and investment in large carriers, taking his company to the number one slot in France from 1995. Jacques R. Saadé’s career was singled out by the international magazine Seatrade, which voted him shipping’s ‘Personality of the Year’ in 2007. He has also been 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, the CMA CGM Group took delivery of the 13,800 teu CMA CGM Christophe Colomb, then the fleet’s flagship and the world’s largest containership flying the French flag. This vessel equipped with the latest in environmental technology symbolised Jacques R. Saadé’s desire to help protect the oceans and fight climate change. Then in December 2012, it was the CMA CGM Marco Polo that would steal the crown from the CMA CGM Christophe Colomb. With a 16,020 teu-capacity, this vessel is the world’s largest containership. The CMA CGM Marco Polo is also the most efficient in terms of its environmental performance, emitting just 3.6g of CO2 per tonne transported per kilometre.

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.

On 25 January 2013, a strategic partnership was signed between the CMA CGM Group and Chinese port operator China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited. Desired by Jacques R. Saadé, this significant transaction is the cornerstone of a strategic partnership for both parties to operate and develop container terminals worldwide and extend their business relationships, while capitalising on favourable global macroeconomic trends: “CMA CGM is delighted to have this partnership with CMHI which is a unique opportunity to drive forward the Group’s development in port terminal management around the world,” says Farid Salem, Executive Officer at CMA CGM4.

On the environment front, Jacques R. Saadé has always been convinced that shipping offers the best solution to reducing the impact of freight transport. Rejecting the destructive logic of “cost-killing”, he chose to equip his fleet with new large capacity vessels fitted with the latest green technologies. In fact, between 2007 and 2010 CMA CGM has already managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 26%, the goal being to achieve 50% by 2015. Under the leadership of Jacques R. Saadé, the CMA CGM Group has continued to invest to make its business more respectful of the environment. The latest figures for the environmental performance of its vessels are worth highlighting. (See the CMA CGM blog)

Today, the CMA CGM Group is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company and No.1 in France. With a fleet of 465 vessels, it serves more than 400 ports worldwide and carried around 12.2 million teus (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2014. Present on all continents and in 150 countries through its 655 agencies, it employs 22,000 people including 4,700 in France. Revenue for 2014 is US$16.7 billion.

The CMA CGM Group: family capitalism to an IPO

Unlike companies that have been bought out by the big groups, where people are interchangeable and governance sometimes obscure, this company is an asset worth preserving and passing on. Where some only see profitability, another is keen to preserve the business and develop a vision for the long-term.

At the height of the crisis in 2009, the shipping industry was badly affected. Committed to human values that underpin the governance model of family-run companies, Jacques R. Saadé was opposed to breaking up the Group. Supported by his son Rodolphe Saadé, and daughter Tanya Saadé, he knew the container transport sector would bounce back. This also led him to invest, notably in building the Group’s first three 16,000 teu vessels.

“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 admiration of the Anglo-Saxon analysts at Lloyd’s List. 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 – explained by the family-run nature of the business: “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, with the proviso that the Saadé family would keep control.

CMA CGM key figures

Key figures (*teus : twenty-foot equivalent units)

	CMA CGM 2014
Total revenue	USD 16,7 billions
Number of containers carried	12.2 million teus*
Total fleet vessel	465
Total fleet capacity	1.648 million TEU* (in 2013)
Staff worldwide	22,000 employees
Staff in France	4,700 employees
World ranking	3rd

External links

• Biography of Jacques Saadé on the CMA CGM Blog
• Biography of Jacques R. Saadé at CMA CGM
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