Container ship magnate Rodolphe Saade is feeling more comfortable taking his place at the top table of French business life.
Thanks to recent newspaper and TV station takeovers, the chief executive of CMA CGM has been enjoying a profile on a par with LVMH boss Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest man, and Bollore Group owner Vincent Bollore.
The Saade family-owned line has snapped up business newspaper La Tribune and Marseille daily La Provence in the past two years, and last month bought news channel BFM.
In a rare interview, he told the Financial Times: “LVMH, Bollore, the Dassaults have their own newspapers. I have the means to develop a new activity. I think the media, for a group like ours, makes sense.”
The 54-year-old has preferred a low profile, adding: “The less people talk about us, the better off we are.”
But he will not shirk from the spotlight now.
“I’m not going to hide behind my little finger. I can’t say, ‘I’m small, don’t look at me’. I’m here and I’m going to live up to that role.”
Container shipping has been facing lower profits following the post-pandemic boom, but no job cuts are planned at CMA CGM.
The CEO also has no intention of listing the group, opting to retain agility in a volatile sector.
Beirut-born Saade endured tough times during the 2008 financial crisis as the group brought in a minority Turkish shareholder, Yildirim Group, to shore up control.
Formative experience
“It was formative for me, and I will do everything in my power to not fall back into a situation like 2008,” he told the FT. “We didn’t have many friends.”
Saade revealed he would pump out rock music to motivate himself for talks with creditors.
The Saade family is now ranked 52nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated $30.8bn.
CMA CGM was founded by Saade’s father, Jacques.
One friend told the newspaper the family works “24 out of 24 hours … Business and family, it’s all mixed together and it creates very strong bonds between them.”
Saade is also said to hire and fire quickly if new recruits are not working out.
“There is no point keeping someone if we know quickly that it won’t work,” he said.
One friend described Saade as “endearing, very family-oriented and humble”.
Next generation
But the boss also likes to keep staff on their toes.
On a trip to Egypt this year, he asked staff about the group’s market share.
“The person in charge told me the decline was 0.13%, which is not a lot, but I told him it was enormous and that I was not happy,” the CEO said. “I have to keep people motivated, although the teams do very good work.”
And a new generation is being groomed to take over.
Saade’s sister Tanya and brother Jacques also work at CMA CGM. Between them they have five teenage children.
“After they’ve done their studies and had experiences abroad, I want them to work in the family business,” Saade said.
Asked what happens if they prefer to be musicians, he responded: “That’s fine, it’ll last 10 minutes. You have to give them a choice, but there are five of them, and we don’t need an orchestra.”
