The astonishing recovery of a company deserted by its managers

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In 2008, the Egyptian group Orascom sold its Algerian assets to Lafarge without informing the country’s authorities. The Algerian government publicly criticised the operation and put the French group on a “red list”. At the end of 2009, worried about the violent demonstrations triggered by a football match between Egypt and Algeria, Lafarge decided to exfiltrate the company’s Egyptian executives from Algeria for their safety. It was in this chaotic context that Luc Callebat, who had managed several of Lafarge’s foreign subsidiaries, but who was not familiar with Algeria, was given the task of making Lafarge Algeria a competitive unit that met the Group’s standards. The challenge was immense, but the industrial and human adventure that followed was to make Lafarge Algeria the Group’s most successful entity. Recognising its contribution to the country’s economy, the Algerian government eventually rolled out the red carpet.