By ‘Fisyao Soyombo
Once upon a time, Mohamed Mansour was an abjectly poor man. It was a fate that befell him after his rich father abruptly sank into poverty.
Loutfy Mansour had been one of Egypt’s biggest exporters of cotton. But a group of army officers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, in 1952, revolted to depose the monarchy and establish a parliamentary democracy, and in 1964 embarked on indiscriminate nationalisation of Egyptian businesses. Nasser confiscated Loutfy’s cotton trading company, and placed him under house arrest.
In the horrid time that followed, Mohamed — who was studying at North Carolina State University with the hope of returning to Egypt with mastery of the textile business — was forced to work as a dishwasher in a pizza parlour in Raleigh.
The senior Mansour found his way to London several years later, where his contacts in Geneva helped him re-establish himself as a cotton broker, allowing him space to substantially profit from an escalation of cotton price in 1973.
Mansour was to later lead his son to car dealership, as his experiences had taught him “what goes up must go down.” So in 1975, Mohamed Mansour began his relationship with General Motors (commonly known as GM), one year before his father passed away.
Mohamed would later earn the sobriquet, Mr. Mansour Chevrolet, as the Mansour Group started partnerships with Caterpillar in 1977, then Chevrolet, and tobacco, Marlboro, Merit and LM. The group also introduced to the market its own brands, like the Metro supermarket chain. Thus, it became an agent to a wide range of American companies, introducing a number of American brands to the Egyptian market.
Mohamed would later describe his style of management as “conservative,” adding that he was “very careful about the debt-to-equity ratio.” He also says that “opportunities came to us,” citing deals with Philip Morris and McDonald’s. What he probably never said was that the business grew as the opportunities chased.
Thirty-seven years after the business started, Mohammed, at a worth of $1.7, is Africa’s twelfth richest billionaire. He and his brothers are the biggest sellers of GM vehicles in the world. They also have interests in Palm Hill, Egypt’s second biggest real estate developer, in the largest supermarket chain in Egypt, and in the Philip Morris franchise, which has experiencing big rise in sales of Marlboro cigarettes.
By 26th December 2005 when Mohamed was appointed Egyptian Minister of Transport — a post he would hold for nearly four years — he resigned from a total of 58 directorships and chairmanships he was holding as a private citizen! (And the Mansour Group promised to end all its existing deals with the transport ministry.)
Once asked how his family pulled through government confiscation of its enormously flourishing business to again rise to become one of the world’s most known brands, Mohammed said his family “managed to get through that tough time” because of their “determination!”
