CEO Today Africa Awards

ALGERIA www.ceotodaymagazine.com 26 CEO Today Africa Awards 2019 ISSAD REBRAB CEO Cevital ABOUT ISSAD REBRAB The founder of the Cevital Group, Issad Rebrab was born in 1944. He set up his own accountancy practice in 1968, before becoming an entrepreneur, establishing companies in the metal industry in 1971 and in the iron and steel industry in 1991. Under his leadership, the Cevital Group is continuously expanding and diversifying its business activities, and it now has 26 subsidiaries in industry, food-processing, mass distribution and even the automobile sector. In recent years, he has been expanding the Group’s operations beyond Algeria, particularly in Europe (France, Italy, Spain), Tunisia, Morocco and Brazil. In France, Issad Rebrab bought out the SME Oxxo (manufacturer of high-performance windows) in 2013, re-launched domestic-appliance giant Brandt France in 2014, and acquired specialist steelmakers Luccini in 2015. Issad Rebrab has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cevital Group since 2008. He has five children, all of whom are involved in the management of the Group. In 2009, Cevital’s decision to admit independent members onto its board of directors broadened its governance. This decision was motivated by a desire to support the growth of the business and guarantee its sustainability, following in the footsteps of other large multinationals. Issad Rebrab was voted CEO of the year at the Africa CEO Forum 2015 and Personality of the Year in 2016 by the Tuscany region in Italy, following the resumption of operations at the Piombino steel-making plant. Vision “The idea is to moveAlgeria from importer to exporter in the post- oil economy, to make it Africa’s new behemoth, an emerging economic power that is growing globally, letting loose initiatives, creating employment and wealth and rising in the ranks of the new industrialised nations. Time is not on our side. The population of Algeria will reach 50 million in 2025, with each person consuming fuel and electricity, and we will have 10 million new jobseekers, for whom we will need to create one million jobs per year. We have little time left in which to diversify our economy. Cevital’s revenue has increased 100-fold in 15 years. We intend to make it seven times bigger again by 2025, from $4 billion currently to $25 billion in 2025. To achieve that, we need talented people. We will increase staffing levels from 18,000 today to nearly 100,000 in 2025 and make massive investments in the training and recruitment of talent.” FIRM PROFILE Cevital is a family-run Group whose success and reputation are rooted in its history, its track record and its values. As the first private Algerian company to have invested in a wide variety of business sectors, it has passed significant historical milestones to achieve the size and recognition it enjoys today. As the first private Algerian company to have invested in a wide variety of business sectors, it has passed significant historical milestones to achieve the size and recognition it enjoys today. From the food-processing and mass distribution industry to electronics and domestic appliances, the iron and steel industry, the flat glass industry, industrial construction, the automobile industry, services and the media, etc.; as these investments have been made, the Cevital Group has focused on the key principle of creating an economic unit. With the support of its 18,000 employees located on three continents, it is the flagship of the Algerian economy, working continuously to create jobs and wealth. Cevital has been built around its founder’s ambition and vision to create an industrial group on a global scale that is highly competitive and focused on international exports. The group has world-class production facilities that are equipped with the most advanced technologies. The Group’s strategy is based on being highly competitive in terms of price, quality, volumes, logistics, automation and co-location. Research and Development, innovation and the skills of our employees are also key considerations. These assets give us a competitive edge and form the cornerstone of a dynamic export industry that creates jobs and appeals to the young people of Algeria. According to Issad Rebrab, CEO of Cevital, the Group’s success is founded on seven key points: Regularly reinvesting profits in growth sectors with high added value www.cevital.com