Founding president of CMA CGM, Jacques Saadé, died yesterday at the age of 81.
Saadé founded the Compagnie Maritime d’Affretement (CMA) 40 years ago after leaving Lebanon with his family to escape civil war. He began with four employees, a single ship and one maritime service between Marseille and Beirut.
In 1983, he sent his first ships beyond the Mediterranean and had them cross the Suez Canal. In 1986 he launched a service linking North Europe to Asia and in 1992 he opened CMA’s first office in Shanghai, persuaded that China would become the world’s factory.
In 2006 the company became the third largest container shipping company in the world.
His son, Rodolphe Saadé, took over as CEO and chairman of the shipping line’s board of directors in 2017.
