Biography

Issad Rebrab, born on 27 May 1944 in Tagumount-Azzouz village, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria, is the founder of Cevital, Algeria's largest private industrial group. After professional school he taught accounting and commercial law, then ran his own accounting firm, and from 1971 moved into metal construction and steel. Cevital's own biography names him chairman of its board since 2008, while Wikipedia lists him as CEO.

His career includes setbacks: Wikipedia reports that his main installations were destroyed in a terrorist attack in 1995 and that he left Algeria before returning to found Cevital in 1998. It also reports that he was detained on 22 April 2019 in a corruption probe, released on 1 January 2020 after a six-month sentence for tax, banking and customs offences with a fine of 1.383 billion dinars, and barred from commerce by a court decision on 27 May 2023. Forbes put his net worth at US$4.8 billion in 2021 and US$4.9 billion in a 2023 profile. He is married with five children.

Career

  • 1968 · Founds an accounting firm · Cevital biography
  • 1971 · Enters metal construction through a stake in a steel-construction company · SOCOMEG (company) / Sotecom (Wikipedia)
  • 1975 · Creates Profilor · Steel
  • 1988 · Creates Metal Sider · Steel
  • 1995 · Main installations destroyed in a terrorist attack; leaves Algeria · Wikipedia
  • 1998 · Sets up Cevital after returning · Cevital
  • 2008 · Chairman of the Board · Cevital
  • 2016 · Acquires the El Khabar media group for US$45 million · Wikipedia citing Forbes
  • 2019 · Detained in a corruption probe (22 April) · Wikipedia
  • 2020 · Released after a six-month sentence (1 January) · Wikipedia
  • 2022 · Liberte daily closed (April) · Wikipedia citing Al-Monitor and AFP
  • 2023 · Court decision bars him from commerce (27 May) · Wikipedia citing Jeune Afrique

Education

  • Professional school graduate (details not stated)

Achievements

  • CEO of the Year, Africa CEO Forum 2015 (Cevital biography)
  • Personality of the Year 2016, Tuscany region, Italy, after the Piombino steel takeover (Cevital biography)
  • Net worth US$4.8 billion (Forbes, 2021)

Companies Founded