Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes are two well-known business leaders who have played important roles in large international companies. They have different backgrounds and work in different industries, but both have experience in managing complex businesses, making important decisions, and guiding companies through periods of change.
Rodolphe Saadé is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM, a major shipping and logistics group based in France. His work focuses on international trade, shipping, transport, and the movement of goods around the world.
Greg Hayes is an American business leader who previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RTX, a major aerospace and defence company. He is known for his work in finance, business planning, company mergers, and corporate leadership.
Although the two men work in different business areas, their careers offer useful examples of how leaders manage large organisations. Understanding their backgrounds helps explain their achievements, leadership experience, and contributions to the business world.
Who Is Rodolphe Saadé?
Rodolphe Saadé is a French-Lebanese businessman who leads CMA CGM. The company is involved in container shipping, logistics, air freight, and other transport services. It helps businesses move goods between countries and supports the global supply chain.
Saadé was born in Lebanon in 1970. He grew up in a family with a strong connection to business and international trade. His father, Jacques Saadé, founded CMA CGM in Marseille, France, in 1978.
Rodolphe joined the family business in 1994. However, he did not begin his career as the head of the company. He first gained experience in different areas of shipping and learned how the business worked.
Over time, he took on more responsibility and became one of the company’s main leaders. In November 2017, he became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CMA CGM.
Since then, he has worked to expand the company’s services and strengthen its position in international transport and logistics.
Rodolphe Saadé’s Education and Early Career
Rodolphe Saadé studied business and marketing at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1994.
His education gave him a foundation in business management, marketing, and commercial planning. These subjects are important for running a company that works with customers and business partners across many countries.
Before joining CMA CGM, Saadé also started a water dispenser business called Dynamic Concept. This gave him early experience in running a business and understanding customer needs.
He later joined CMA CGM, where he worked in several roles. He managed shipping routes and gained experience in international markets, including the Transatlantic and Transpacific shipping services.
These roles helped him understand the daily needs of the company, from moving goods to serving customers and managing international operations.
His career shows how experience in different departments can help prepare a person for a senior leadership position.
How Rodolphe Saadé Became the Leader of CMA CGM
CMA CGM was founded by Jacques Saadé to provide shipping services between different ports. Over the years, the company grew into a major name in the global shipping industry.
Rodolphe Saadé joined the company during this period of growth. He gradually took on greater responsibilities and became involved in important business decisions.
In 2010, he became Vice Chairman and joined the company’s board. During this period, he also worked on financial and business matters that helped prepare him for a larger leadership role.
One important step in his career came in 2015, when he led an offer to acquire Neptune Orient Lines, a Singapore-based shipping company. The deal helped strengthen CMA CGM’s international position.
In 2016, he became President of the Neptune Orient Lines board. He also helped develop the Ocean Alliance, a shipping partnership involving CMA CGM and other major companies.
These experiences gave him further knowledge of international shipping and large business agreements.
In 2017, he became Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM. As leader, he focused on developing the group’s transport and logistics services.
CMA CGM’s Growth Under Rodolphe Saadé
Under Saadé’s leadership, CMA CGM expanded beyond its traditional shipping business. The group increased its presence in logistics, air freight, and other transport services.
One important development was the creation of CMA CGM Air Cargo in 2021. This allowed the group to build a stronger role in air freight and offer customers more ways to move goods.
The company also expanded its logistics operations through acquisitions. In 2019, it completed the acquisition of CEVA Logistics, a company that provides supply chain and logistics services.
In 2022, CMA CGM announced several further acquisitions, including businesses that supported e-commerce logistics, automotive logistics, and delivery services.
These changes helped the group offer more services in addition to moving containers by sea.
For businesses, having access to several transport and logistics services can make it easier to manage the movement of products. It can also give customers more options when planning deliveries and international shipments.
Saadé’s approach shows the value of expanding a company carefully into related areas. Rather than depending on one service alone, CMA CGM has developed a wider network of business activities.
Rodolphe Saadé’s Approach to Technology and Sustainability
Technology plays an important role in modern shipping and logistics. Companies need digital systems to manage orders, track goods, organise transport, and communicate with customers.
Saadé has supported digital development at CMA CGM. The group has worked to improve its transport services and create better solutions for customers.
In 2022, he launched TANGRAM, a centre for innovation and training. The centre focuses on developing knowledge and skills related to future transport and logistics solutions.
Sustainability is another important subject for the shipping industry. Ships carry large amounts of goods around the world, but shipping also creates greenhouse gas emissions.
CMA CGM has announced measures to support its environmental goals. These include investing in ships that use alternative fuels and working towards its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Such efforts are important because transport companies face growing pressure to reduce their environmental impact. However, reaching these goals requires continued investment, new technology, and changes across the industry.
Saadé has also supported charitable work through the CMA CGM Foundation. The foundation provides support for areas such as emergency relief, education, and equal opportunities.
Who Is Greg Hayes?
Greg Hayes, whose full name is Gregory J. Hayes, is an American business executive with extensive experience in finance, aerospace, and industrial management.
He is best known for his former leadership role at United Technologies Corporation and RTX. RTX was formed in 2020 when United Technologies and Raytheon Company combined their aerospace and defence businesses.
Hayes played a central role in this change. During his time as CEO, he helped reshape major businesses and bring different operations together.
His career has included financial management, business strategy, company acquisitions, and senior leadership positions.
Hayes later left his executive role at RTX. He now serves on the boards of other companies, including Phillips 66 and Becton, Dickinson and Company, also known as BD.
His experience makes him an important example of a business leader whose career developed through financial and operational roles before reaching the highest levels of company management.
Greg Hayes’s Education and Early Career
Greg Hayes studied economics at Purdue University in the United States. He earned a bachelor’s degree in the subject and also became a Certified Public Accountant.
Accounting and economics are useful subjects for leaders who need to understand company costs, financial reports, investment decisions, and business risks.
Hayes joined United Technologies Corporation in 1999 through its merger with Sundstrand Corporation. He then worked in several senior positions.
His career included work in finance, corporate planning, and business development. These roles helped him understand how a large company could manage its money, plan for growth, and make long-term business decisions.
In 2008, he became Chief Financial Officer of United Technologies. He held this position until 2014.
As CFO, he was responsible for important financial matters. This included helping the company manage its resources and support business plans.
In 2014, Hayes became CEO of United Technologies. He later became Chairman in 2016.
His rise from financial management to company leadership shows how strong knowledge of finance can support wider business responsibilities.
Greg Hayes’s Role in the Development of RTX
One of the most important events in Hayes’s career was the formation of Raytheon Technologies, which was later renamed RTX.
In 2020, United Technologies combined its remaining aerospace businesses with Raytheon Company. The new organisation brought together important businesses involved in aircraft engines, aerospace systems, and defence technology.
Hayes played a leading role in this merger.
The combination brought together companies with different products, customers, and business operations. Managing such a change required planning, financial knowledge, and careful coordination.
A large merger can offer benefits, including a wider range of products and access to more customers. However, it can also create challenges. Companies need to combine their systems, teams, and business plans while continuing to serve their customers.
Hayes’s experience in financial management and company strategy helped prepare him for this type of work.
The new company was designed to build on the strengths of its aerospace and defence businesses. RTX became an important supplier of products and services for the aviation and defence industries.
Hayes served as its CEO until 2024. Christopher Calio succeeded him as CEO, and Hayes later served as Executive Chairman during the leadership transition.
He stepped down as Executive Chairman in April 2025 and continued as a special adviser until January 2026.
Greg Hayes’s Leadership and Business Strategy
Hayes’s leadership style was closely linked to financial planning, company structure, and long-term business goals.
During his career at United Technologies, he helped guide changes in the company’s business portfolio. This included the sale of Sikorsky Aircraft and the acquisition of Rockwell Collins.
United Technologies also separated Otis, its elevator business, and Carrier, its heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration business, in 2020.
These changes helped focus the remaining business on aerospace activities. The later merger with Raytheon created the company now known as RTX.
Making such decisions requires leaders to study the value of different business units and decide which areas fit the company’s future plans.
A company may choose to sell a business when it wants to focus on other products or markets. It may also buy another company to gain technology, skills, or access to new customers.
Hayes’s career included both types of decisions. This gave him experience in managing change across large international organisations.
His background in accounting also supported his work in financial planning and company oversight.
Greg Hayes’s Work After RTX
After leaving his senior executive role at RTX, Hayes continued to use his business experience in board positions.
He serves as a director of Phillips 66, an energy manufacturing and logistics company. He is also the Lead Independent Director on its board.
In addition, he serves on the board of Becton, Dickinson and Company, a global medical technology company.
Board members help oversee the direction of a business. Their duties include reviewing important plans, considering risks, checking company performance, and supporting good corporate governance.
This work differs from being a CEO. A CEO manages the company’s daily operations and leads its employees, while a board focuses on oversight, accountability, and long-term direction.
Hayes’s experience in financial management and large corporate changes is useful in these roles.
His work after RTX also shows that experienced executives can continue to contribute to businesses after leaving full-time management positions.
Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes: Main Similarities
Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes have different career paths, but there are several similarities between them.
Experience in Large Companies
Both men have worked at the highest levels of large businesses.
Saadé leads a group that connects shipping, logistics, air freight, and other transport services. Hayes led large industrial and aerospace businesses with operations in many markets.
Their roles require them to consider customers, employees, investment, competition, and long-term business plans.
Running a large company is different from managing a small business. Decisions can affect many employees, customers, suppliers, and business partners.
Both careers show the importance of understanding how different parts of an organisation work together.
Focus on Business Growth
Growth has been an important part of both leaders’ careers.
Saadé has helped expand CMA CGM into related areas such as air freight and logistics. These services help the group serve customers who need more than sea transport.
Hayes helped reshape United Technologies and led the formation of RTX. His career involved acquisitions, company separations, and a major merger.
Although their methods were different, both leaders took part in important decisions about the future direction of their companies.
Experience in International Business
Both leaders have experience working with international markets.
CMA CGM moves goods between countries and supports global trade. It works with ports, shipping partners, logistics providers, and customers around the world.
The companies led by Hayes also operated internationally. Aerospace and defence businesses work with airlines, industrial customers, governments, and other organisations in different countries.
International business requires an understanding of different markets, laws, customer needs, and economic conditions.
Both careers show how important it is for business leaders to look beyond one country or market.
Long-Term Planning
Saadé and Hayes have been involved in decisions designed to shape their companies over several years.
For Saadé, this has included expanding transport services, improving logistics, and supporting digital development.
For Hayes, it has included changing company structures, combining businesses, and deciding which areas should receive greater attention.
Long-term planning is important because large business decisions can take years to show their full results. Leaders need to consider possible benefits as well as costs and risks.
Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes: Key Differences
Despite these similarities, the two leaders have important differences.
Different Industries
The clearest difference is the industry in which each man has worked.
Rodolphe Saadé leads CMA CGM, which focuses on shipping, logistics, and transport. Its services help move products from one place to another.
Greg Hayes built his career in aerospace, defence, and industrial businesses. These industries involve products such as aircraft engines, aviation systems, and defence technology.
The industries face different challenges. Shipping companies must manage freight demand, port operations, fuel costs, and international trade. Aerospace businesses must deal with advanced engineering, product safety, long development periods, and demanding customer requirements.
Different Career Paths
Saadé joined a family business that had already been established by his father. He gained experience within the company before becoming its leader.
Hayes developed his career through financial and management positions at United Technologies. He became CFO before moving into the CEO role.
Saadé’s career was closely connected to the growth of CMA CGM, while Hayes’s experience included financial leadership and major changes to company structures.
Both paths gave them useful experience, but they show different ways of reaching a senior business position.
Different Areas of Responsibility Today
Saadé continues to lead CMA CGM as Chairman and CEO. His work includes the group’s direction, growth, and performance across its transport and logistics activities.
Hayes has moved away from executive leadership at RTX. His current work includes board positions at Phillips 66 and BD.
This means their daily responsibilities are now different. Saadé leads a major operating group, while Hayes contributes through board oversight and corporate governance.
What Can We Learn from Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes?
The careers of Saadé and Hayes offer several lessons for people interested in business and leadership.
First, experience matters. Both leaders held different positions before reaching senior roles. These experiences helped them understand the business challenges they would later need to manage.
Second, leaders need to understand their industries. Saadé’s career has focused on shipping and transport, while Hayes developed deep experience in finance, aerospace, and industrial management.
Third, business growth requires careful decisions. Expanding into new services or combining companies can create opportunities, but these decisions also involve costs and risks.
Fourth, financial knowledge is useful in many types of leadership. Hayes’s training and experience in accounting supported his work in company management. Saadé’s business education and operational experience helped him understand customers, markets, and shipping services.
Finally, leadership does not always mean doing the same job throughout a career. Saadé continues to run CMA CGM, while Hayes has moved into board roles after leaving RTX.
Their careers show that there are different ways to build experience and contribute to the business world.
The Importance of Their Business Contributions
Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes have contributed to different parts of the global economy.
Saadé’s work at CMA CGM supports the movement of goods between countries. Shipping and logistics are important for retailers, manufacturers, farmers, and many other businesses. Without these services, companies would find it harder to move products across long distances.
His focus on logistics and air freight also reflects the changing needs of customers. Many companies want transport services that connect sea, land, and air networks.
Hayes’s career has focused on companies involved in aviation and defence technology. The aerospace industry supports air travel, cargo transport, engineering, and other important activities. The defence sector also provides specialised products and services to government customers.
His work in corporate restructuring and the formation of RTX shows the role that mergers and business planning can play in shaping major companies.
Both careers demonstrate how business leaders influence the way large organisations respond to changing markets and customer needs.
However, their success should not be judged only by the size of their companies or the decisions they made. Business leadership also involves responsibility to employees, customers, shareholders, and other people affected by company decisions.
Understanding these wider responsibilities gives a more complete picture of what it means to lead a large organisation.
Conclusion
Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes are experienced business leaders with different backgrounds and areas of expertise.
Saadé is the Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM. He has helped develop the family business into a wider transport and logistics group, with operations in shipping, air freight, and supply chain services.
Hayes is best known for his time at United Technologies and RTX. He played a major role in the development of RTX and gained extensive experience in financial management, company strategy, and corporate mergers. After leaving RTX, he continued his career through board positions at other companies.
The main difference between the two men is their business focus. Saadé works in shipping and logistics, while Hayes’s career has centred on aerospace, defence, and industrial management.
Their careers also share several important themes, including long-term planning, international business, and adapting to change. Together, their experiences show that successful business leadership can take different forms, depending on a company’s goals, industry, and needs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who is Rodolphe Saadé?
Rodolphe Saadé is a French-Lebanese businessman. He is the Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, a major international shipping and logistics group. He joined the family business in 1994 and became its Chairman and CEO in 2017.
2. Who is Greg Hayes?
Greg Hayes, whose full name is Gregory J. Hayes, is an American business executive. He is best known for his former roles as CEO and Chairman of RTX and his earlier leadership at United Technologies. He now serves on the boards of Phillips 66 and BD.
3. Are Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes related?
There is no widely reported public information showing that Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes are relatives. They are known for their separate careers in international business and have worked in different industries.
4. What company does Rodolphe Saadé lead?
Rodolphe Saadé leads CMA CGM as Chairman and CEO. The group provides container shipping, logistics, air freight, and other transport services to customers around the world.
5. Did Greg Hayes serve as CEO of RTX?
Yes. Greg Hayes served as CEO of RTX after its formation in 2020. He left the CEO role in 2024, when Christopher Calio succeeded him. Hayes later served as Executive Chairman before stepping down in April 2025.
6. What did Greg Hayes do before joining RTX?
Before RTX was formed, Hayes held several senior positions at United Technologies Corporation. He became its CFO in 2008, CEO in 2014, and Chairman in 2016. His work covered finance, business strategy, and company development.
7. What are the main differences between Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes?
The main difference is their industry experience. Saadé leads a shipping and logistics group, while Hayes built his career in aerospace, defence, and industrial businesses. They also have different career paths and current responsibilities.
8. What are the similarities between Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes?
Both have experience leading large international businesses. They have been involved in long-term planning, business growth, and important company decisions. Their careers also show the value of industry knowledge and management experience.
9. What role did Rodolphe Saadé play in the growth of CMA CGM?
Saadé helped expand CMA CGM beyond traditional shipping. Under his leadership, the group developed its air freight activities and strengthened its logistics services through acquisitions and new business plans. These changes helped it offer customers a wider range of transport solutions.
10. What can business students learn from Rodolphe Saadé and Greg Hayes?
Business students can learn the value of education, work experience, financial knowledge, and long-term planning from their careers. Their different paths also show that there is no single route to becoming a business leader. Understanding customers, managing change, and making careful decisions are important in many industries.
