Interview - Mohed Altrad: Building a Future Beyond Your Beginnings
From a childhood in the Syrian desert to international recognition as World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015, Mohed Altrad’s journey offers a powerful perspective on resilience, adaptability, and human leadership.
In this interview with Arab Excellence, the founder of Altrad Group reflects on the experiences that shaped him. His story invites young people to consider how education, determination, and care for others can help them build their own path towards excellence.
Finding the courage to imagine another future
Altrad grew up in a Bedouin community, facing poverty, personal loss, and exclusion. His early circumstances offered few opportunities, and his future appeared to have been decided for him: he would become a shepherd.
Yet he imagined something different. Education became his first ambition—a way to understand the world and discover possibilities beyond his immediate surroundings.
“My dream was to go to school.”
That aspiration gives his story its starting point. Long before building a business, he wanted the opportunity to learn. For young people facing uncertainty, his experience offers a reminder: a meaningful ambition can begin with one concrete step towards a different future.
Perseverance through difficult beginnings
Moving to France brought new challenges. Altrad describes learning a language, adapting to a different culture, and surviving on limited financial resources.
His account makes clear that changing direction did not remove hardship. Each stage demanded further effort and adjustment. His progress came through finding ways to continue, even when his circumstances remained difficult.
For readers beginning their own professional journeys, this is an important lesson: pursuing an ambition involves both imagining what is possible and dealing patiently with the practical obstacles along the way.
Adaptability as a strength
Altrad connects his approach to business with lessons from his Bedouin upbringing. Life in the desert required an understanding of essential needs, changing conditions, and the ability to move with limited resources.
He carries that attention to circumstances into leadership. Using a sporting analogy, he explains that a team must respond when its opponent changes strategy. Following a fixed plan without observing what is happening can leave it exposed.
His reflections present adaptability as a central part of excellence: paying attention, exercising judgment, and being willing to change course when the situation demands it.
Putting humanity at the heart of business
One of the interview’s strongest messages concerns the relationship between work and everyday life.
“It’s part of life.”
Altrad explains that employees bring their worries and personal experiences with them when they enter the workplace. A leader needs to recognize that reality and communicate that support is available, while respecting people’s privacy.
He also discusses fair compensation, shared rewards, and the importance of employees identifying with a collective adventure. His approach links business performance with the quality of the relationships inside the organization.
Excellence, in this reading of his experience, includes the responsibility to create conditions in which others can contribute and thrive.
Keeping hope alive
At the close of the interview, Altrad returns to a simple message:
“There is always hope.”
His journey gives those words weight. He speaks from experiences of hardship, displacement, learning, and continual adaptation.
For Arab Excellence, his story offers young people a valuable invitation: pursue education, remain responsive to change, and build relationships grounded in humanity. The circumstances in which a journey begins can be difficult; the next step can still open a new possibility.
Watch the full Arab Excellence interview with Mohed Altrad above. Quotes are presented in English from the interview.
