Paris, March 15, 2024 (AFP) – With the probable takeover of Altice Media, parent company of BFMTV, the boss of the CMA CGM group Rodolphe Saadé, renowned for his discretion, has established himself in two years as a new mogul of press in France.
In a few acquisitions, this Franco-Lebanese has risen to the level of other billionaires particularly active in the media sector, such as Xavier Niel, Vincent Bolloré or the Czech Daniel Kretinsky.
Born in Lebanon on March 3, 1970, Rodolphe Saadé is the custodian of a family saga initiated by his father Jacques Saadé, who started from nothing to build a sea juggernaut, number three in global maritime transport.
In 1978, Jacques Saadé left Lebanon to escape the civil war and settled in Marseille, where his three children (Rodolphe, Tanya and Jacques Jr) joined him in 1981.
“My father chose Marseille because this city reminded him of Beirut. We had to stay a few weeks, we have been there for 40 years,” Rodolphe Saadé told the Senate Economic Affairs Committee in July 2022.
Attachment to Marseille, the family’s adopted city in exile, is constantly claimed by the Saadé clan. He left his mark there with his 147 meter high headquarters, which has become one of the emblematic buildings of the Marseille city. The group’s name is even displayed on the jersey of Olympique de Marseille, whose matches Rodolphe Saadé regularly goes to watch.
– Demanding father –
When it was launched in 1978, the Compagnie maritime d’affrètement (CMA) only operated one ship and one line linking Marseille to Italy, Syria and Lebanon.
Rodolphe Saadé will grow within this company at the same time as it acquires a global scale. “Very early on, he had this idea that he would have a role in the family group, and he wanted it,” former deputy mayor Yves Moraine (LR), who has known him since 3rd.
Holder of a business and marketing degree obtained in Canada, he began by founding a water cooler company in Lebanon, before quickly joining the family group in 1994.
In 2017, Rodolphe Saadé succeeded his father at the head of the group. “He had great preparation over several years. He had a father who was not simple, who was very demanding, very ambitious who never let anything slip, it was a tough school,” lawyer Georges Sioufi, who worked for 25 years, told AFP. alongside the founder of CMA CGM.
Under his leadership, the group diversified. The maritime transport sector is too cyclical and the group came close to bankruptcy at the turn of the 2010s.
In 2019, he bought the logistician Ceva Logisitics, continuing his acquisition binge (Gefco, Ingram, Colis Privé) thanks to the huge profits made during the Covid years, leading to the takeover of Bolloré Logisitics, which made CMA CGM the fifth logistician in the world .
– Hardworking and discreet –
“He is someone very determined, very entrepreneurial, with a strong strategic vision,” describes his close colleague, the financial director of CMA CGM, Ramon Fernandez.
Coming from a family with a Christian-orthodox tradition, Rodolphe Saadé cultivates discretion and grants few interviews. He is described as very demanding, a hard worker. “His life is the group founded by his father,” according to the president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region, Renaud Muselier.
“His only hobby is going running and being with his children. Or to share a good meal, with a glass of rum to finish,” says Yves Moraine.
This father of two also places great importance on family, with whom he manages his business. His sister Tanya is deputy general director and president of the foundation. His brother, Jacques Jr, deals with real estate.
His wife Véronique Albertini-Saadé runs Whynot, the group’s media branch, which is on the way to becoming a leading player.
“We are wondering in La Provence what our place will be in this juggernaut,” worries Sophie Manelli, SNJ representative of the regional daily, to AFP.
“When Rodolphe Saadé was in negotiations with us, he explained that he had no ambitions in the media,” she recalls.
