Lebanese Business Personalities
George Elias (Alex) Kayat-Civil Engineer
Designed The Southern Freeway in Durban, and many of Johannesburg’s main Roads (including the double decker). Designer of Thornhill Airport in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Tony Khoury – immigrated from Lebanon with his Father, Mother three sisters and brother, in the early 1950’s, and settled in Kroonstad. At the age of 23 was elected to the city council of Kroonstad, at the time being the youngest elected councillor in the Free State. Served on the council at verious times for 24 years, elected Mayor for the greater Kroonstad transitional council in the new dispensation 1995-1998.
Joseph Yasbeck: Mayor of East London
Abey Karam: Married to Bernadette , he served four terms as Mayor of Delareyville.
Anthony Shidiack : Married to Mary ( nee Sahd) Mayor of Queenstown.
Japie Sorour: Spent 17 years on the Fiksburg City council . Opposed President Vervoed on the Fiksburg zonning law.
Eddie Sorour: Son of Japie Also spent 17 years on the Fiksburg City council.
Joe Maroun: Became the President of Bristol Myers International group and The Vice president of Bristol Myers in New York
Dennis Sanan : Managing Director of Gillette’s in The United Kingdom. He studied Pharmacy . He spent 33 years with Gillette’s in South Africa , England and The United States. He was in leadership positions in all 3 countries.
Dr Bradley Jabour :Internationally recognized neuroradologist . He was a professor of Neuroradology at UCLA in Los Angeles California. Through his reseach he pioneered new techniques in cancer imaging. He lives in Santa Monica California.
Dr Christy Jabour :Retired doctor in Colorado, he is the father of Dr. Bradley Jabour.
Dr. Dorienne Jabour : Dentist Colorado. She the sister of Dr Bradley Jabour.
Brandon Jabour – Cousin to Dr. Bradley Jabour. Vice President of Lilly in Canada, President of Lilly in Lebanon, and now Chief Operating Officer of Aspen Pharmceuticals in Dubai.
Peter Allem – Family had the largest corn farm in The Southern Hemisphere, and the only privately owned grain silos in The Southern Hemisphere. Father of Professional golfer Fulton Allem.
Bakos Brothers: Tyrone, Norman,Bernard, Dennis, Donald, ” Kings of the Furniture Business”, started their furniture business in 1971. Today they have branched out into property development.
Stephen Bradley Saad : As at 2012, rated the 20th richest person in Africa. Co-founded Aspen Pharmacare in 1997 with $6.3 million; it’s now the largest publicly-traded drug manufacturer on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with revenues expected to reach US$2 billion this year. He became a millionaire at age 29 after he sold his share in the drug business Covan Zurich for $3 million.
Eddie Keyrouz : CEO SCA homes as well Sterizone: helped to develop and pateneted ozone generators, in conjunction with Potchefstroom University. Eddie received funding from Mark Shuttleworth and today the products are sold in USA , Britain Australia.
Dr. Darryl A. Kalil : Practices cardiology interventional medicine in North Carolina USA. Graduate of Cape Town university 1974 and The University of Iowa, he was resident Of Baragwaneth, Groote Schuur and Johannesburg Hospitals, before moving to USA.
Dr Bryan Kalil: MD brother of Dr Darryl Kalil , specializes in pediatric medicine Denison Texas . Bryan was a graduate of Cape Town University.
John Chemaly : Executive Head of Global Markets at Nedbank capital South Africa.
Norman Adami : President and CEO Miller Brewing company . President and CEO SABMiller Americas. He started with South African Breweries in 1979 In Oct 2008 he became the Managing Director of South African Breweries before heading for the USA.
Dr Domeena Renshaw : Founded the first sex clinic in the Chicago area in 1972. Born in South Africa, where she obtained her medical degree. She went on to complete her psychiatric residency in the United States and in 1968, joined the faculty of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Thomas Sasseen : South African Lebanese Coin designer, was responsible for the design of South African coins 1965 – 1989: Second Decimal Coin Series.
Dr. Richard Zock: South Africa’s first Lebanese doctor. During the 2nd world War he was sent as a medical doctor to North Africa, with the South African troops. His example, and compassion for the Lebanese community, set the way for hundreds of South African born Lebanese doctors.
J.P. Farah: South African Lebanese first multi-millionaire . During the 40’s 2nd world war, there were shortages. JP sold Minora blades to the Military at a very high profit.
Victor Hanna: Was known as the” Potato King”. Every potato that was sold on the Johannesburg’s Newtown market, had to be sold through Victor, who made millions. He is the father of Roy Hanna , CEO of ‘Video Town’. ( see Rugby in sports section)
Buddy Lebanon ( Lebenon): Founder and CEO of the” Cedar Radex Paint Compnay” ( See Boxing section).
Roy Hanna: Founder and Ceo of :” Video Town ” chain of Video stores ( see Rugby and racing sections).
Anthony “Tony ” Farah: (Son of J.P.Farah), Founder of the Multinational Spescom group. Developed many new technologies including token-less prepaid metering, and successfully marketed these internationally. He retired as Executive Chairman and C.E.O. He is currently advising, and investing in new innovative ventures ,Farah Investment Company. He is a graduate of Wits university and Harvard in the US.
Tony Chemaly : Retired “Receiver of revenue” Head of the South African Tax Dept.
Tony Chemaly : Brigadier General of the South African defence force. he is also a honorary colonel.
( not the same as The tax man above).
Dr. Emile J. Jammine : Captain in the South African Army during world war 2.
Elias Mansour Eid: First Lebanese to arrive in South Africa (between 1880-1885). he spent 10 years on the gold fields before returning to Lebanon with a tidy stash of gold he amassed. He opened the way for the first wave of Lebanese to move to South Africa.
Peter “Butros” Samra: South Africa’s , first Lebanese Entrepreneur . In the early 1900’s he owned a water mineral works and a furniture factory in Krugersdorp.He was well know and had many local magistrates as his friends. He died of the flu epidemic of 1918 .He was the Father of Tony Samra and grandfather of Pete,Clive and Bernard Samra.
Derek Manas: (Professor) is the Director of Organ Transplant in the North of England at the University of newcastle.Specialising in Liver, Kidney and Pancreas transplants.
Brigadier A.C. Chemaly : Brigadier Chemaly matriculated from Queen’s College and went on to graduate from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.. As a Reserve Force Officer, Brigadier Chemaly also had a civilian career. He was a well known businessman in the Queenstown area.Brigadier Chemaly retired from active service in 2008/9, but remained active in the post of Honorary Colonel of the First City Regiment.
Kenneth Johann Costa, commonly known as Ken Costa, (born 31 October 1949) is a London-based South African banker and Christian philanthropist. He served as the Chairman of Lazard from 2007 to 2011. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Law and Philosophy in 1972.[4] During that time, he was the President of the students’ council and identified as a marxist.[3] He was an opponent of the apartheid regime and friends with fellow anti-apartheid activists like Ahmed Timol and Steve Biko.He went on to receive a Masters of Law Degree and a Certificate in Theology from Queens’ College, Cambridge in England. Costa started his career in banking at S. G. Warburg & Co. in London in the 1980s, when he was mentored by Sir Siegmund Warburg.[3] He joined UBS when S. G. Warburg & Co. merged with it.[3][5] He eventually served as the Chairman of Europe, Middle East and Africa at UBS Investment Bank, retiring in September 2007.He served as the Chairman of Lazard International from 2007 in 2011. He was an advisor to Mohamed Al-Fayed on his 1.5 billion sale of Harrods to the Qatari royal family. In December 2014, he joined the Board of Directors of Songbird Estates, which owns 70% of Canary Wharf, replacing Khalifa Al-Kuwari.He was Professor of Commerce at Gresham College[9] and he is the dean of Leadership College London. He is the Chairman of Alpha International, which promotes the Alpha course He has spoken at Holy Trinity Brompton,[11] where he was previously a church warden, and also at New Wine. He is the author of God At Work, a 2007 book about Christianity’s relationship to the workplace and Know Your Why in 2016, a book about finding and fulfilling your calling.
Azar Jamine: political economist
Charbel Kattan :is a Lebanese novelist. He was born in Magdouche in 1970, and moved to South Africa for higher education in 1990. He now lives in Johannesburg. His novel Suitcases of Memory was longlisted in 2012 for the “Arabic Booker Prize”
John Shalala: businessman and CEO of Jetline group of companies.
Michael William Sutherland: is an Australian politician who was the Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from September 2008 to March 2017, representing the electorate of Mount Lawley. Before state politics, Sutherland was a City of Perth Councilor from 1995 to 2009 and served as deputy mayor for five years. Sutherland retired from the City of Perth Council in early 2009. Between 1982 and 1987 Sutherland served as a Johannesburg city councilor. Sutherland was born to William and Alice Sutherland in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sutherland’s parents met whilst his father was serving as a Warrant Officer in the South African Army in Egypt during the Second World War. His father was of Scottish ancestry, whilst his mother belonged to the Lebanese Christian community. His mother later married William and migrated to South Africa.
After matriculating from The Hill High School where he was head boy, Sutherland undertook national service in the South African army, and then proceeded to complete a Bachelor of Arts at the Witwatersrand University, where he majored in history and international relations. He commenced teaching in 1977 for a period of five years. Whilst teaching, he studied as an external student at the University of South Africa, graduating with a teacher’s diploma and law degree. He was admitted as a solicitor and notary public in South Africa in 1983. From the early 1970s, Sutherland was active in the United Party, the then main parliamentary opposition to the ruling National Party. In 1982 he was elected to the Johannesburg City Council as a member of the Progressive Federal Party, which by then had become the main parliamentary opposition party. The Johannesburg City Council was a large metropolitan council with 47 councilors and 600,000 residents. He migrated to Australia in 1987. Sutherland arrived in Sydney in 1987. He soon qualified as an Australian lawyer through the University of Sydney. He then moved to Perth in 1988 where he practiced law until 2008 when he was elected as the Member for Mount Lawley, the position he held until 2017.
On his resignation from City of Perth Council in 2009, he was made a freeman of the City of Perth, an honor awarded to council members who have served at least three consecutive elections, who have made an outstanding contribution to the community and who have consistently displayed commendable conduct.
Rodolphe Saadé is the son of late shipping magnate Jacques Saade, who died in June 2018. Jacques founded CMA CGM, now one of the world’s largest shipping company in Marseille, France, in 1978. Rodolphe jointly controls the company with his siblings Tanya Saadé Zeenny and Jacques Junior Saadé, as well as his mother Naila. He took over from his father as chairman of the board and CEO of CMA CGM Group in 2017. The $23.4 billion (revenues) company operates more than 500 vessels, serving 420 commercial ports in 160 countries. (Ref: https://www.forbes.com/profile/rodolphe-saade/?list=rtb/#7e1a8e383c69 )