Mohed Altrad
| Mohed Altrad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
March 9, 1948 Syria |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Businessman, rugby chairman, writer |
| Net worth | $1.12 billion |
Mohed Altrad is a Syrian-born French billionaire businessman, rugby chairman and writer, born in March 1948 in the desert of Syria. His mother died on the day he was born and his Bedouin father gave him away to his grandparents at age 4. He was destined to be a shepherd. In 2015, he was named World Entrepreneur of the Year by EY.[1]
Youth
Mohed Altrad spent part of his youth in Raqqa, Syria.[2] He did his A levels at 17, he earned an allocation of scholarship and came up with 200 francs in Montpellier, France.[3]
Career
After earning a PhD in computer science at the University of Montpellier, he began working for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, from which he left to buy a scaffolding company in France in 1985. This acquisition morphed into the present-day Groupe Altrad, employer of over 7,000 people, and involved in the scaffolding and cement-mixing industries. Altrad remains chairman of his namesake company, as well as the rugby club Montpellier Hérault Rugby.[4] He has also penned three acclaimed novels.,[5][6] He is unsure of his day of birth, so he recently "picked a date from a hat" in order to celebrate one.[7]
Bibliography
Novels
- Badawi (Actes Sud), 2002
- L’hypothèse de Dieu (Actes Sud), 2006
- La Promesse d’Annah (Actes Sud), 2012
Essays
- Stratégie de groupe (Chotard), 1990.
- Écouter, Harmoniser, Diriger (Presses de la Cité) 1992.
- Le management d’un groupe international : vers la pensée multiple (Eska) with Carole Richard, 2008.
References
- ↑ EY, Mohed Altrad of Altrad Group from France named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year (TM) 2015, EY., 07/06/2015
- ↑ Peter Day, Entrepreneur of the year: a Bedouin turned businessman, BBC., 10/06/2015
- ↑ (French) Christine Kerdellant, J'ai gagné ma place en France, on L'Express, 14/10/2015
- ↑ (French) AFP, Top 14 - Montpellier: Mohed Altrad devient l'actionnaire principal, on Le Parisien, 21/05/2011
- ↑ Forbes profile
- ↑ (French) Antoine Guiral, Mohed Altrad. Mille et une vies , on Libération, 16/04/2013
- ↑ Katia Savchuk, From Bedouin To Billionaire: Meet The Man Changing What It Means To Be French After Charlie Hebdo, on Forbes, 02/03/2015