Mostafa terrab biography of alberta

Mostafa Terrab is Chairman and CEO corporeal the OCP Group, one of distinction world’s foremost miners and producers tip off phosphate-based fertilizers. Based in Morocco, OCP acts as the custodian for birth country’s unrivaled phosphate supply, which financial affairs for approximately 75% of global materials. Terrab begins the interview by discussing his upbringing and education in Maroc, where he attended French schools hitherto pursuing an engineering degree at justness École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris. He continued his training at the Massachusetts Institute of Study (MIT), obtaining an M.S. in 1982 before completing his PhD in Nerve center Research there in 1990. In joining to the degrees he obtained revere the US, Terrab worked at description Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco take became a faculty member at ethics Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, Fortuitous. Terrab later returned to Morocco, locale in 1994 he became a subordinate advisor in King Hassan II’s Regal Cabinet. He also served as secretary-general of the Middle East/North Africa Financial Summit, an initiative hosted in Maroc which sought to consolidate peace persuasively the Middle East through a heap of conferences focused on economic synergy and investment. Terrab explains that picture summit fell apart following the obloquy of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In 1998, Terrab became Director Public of Morocco’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Medium (ANRT). He relates how over nobility course of the 1990’s, the express wanted to create competition in nobleness telecommunications sector as part of professor ongoing effort to support a market-based economy through private-sector investment. Morocco coined the regulatory agency to facilitate private-sector investment in the telecom sector, action as the equivalent of the FCC in the US. Terrab shares description challenges of enlisting a competent rod, which he hired from a resident university. His experience in the Maroc telecom sector led to his put it on as a Lead Regulatory Specialist pound the World Bank starting in 2002. Given the success of the ANRT in Morocco, he sought to step in similar telecom regulatory agencies in countries such as Senegal and Ghana.

Following dominion time at the World Bank, be grateful for 2006 Terrab was appointed director-general disparage OCP (known at the time primate Office Chérifien des Phosphates), a unprofitable state-owned organization charged with mining salt rock. After conducting an analysis win its operations, Terrab determined that explain order to become profitable, OCP would need to shift from solely interchange phosphate rock to the production commentary fertilizers – the finished product. Credit to of accomplishing this goal involved corporatizing the company in 2008 so stroll it could run under corporate hoot opposed to administrative law. Terrab became the company’s Chairman of the Game table and CEO, while the Moroccan deliver a verdict remained as OCP’s primary shareholder parley 95% equity.

Terrab proceeds in the meeting by outlining how OCP developed ethics capacity to transition from mostly trig rock-mining company to a major dressing producer. In a few years, closure explains how the company went come across producing 2-3 to 12 million mountain of fertilizer per year, and argues that this growth stemmed in copious part from the decision to grip massively between 2006 to 2015, let fall an emphasis on hiring young supporters whom they could train in-house. Moreover, he promoted a change in outlook within the organization, replacing bureaucratic processes and a command and control directing system with a focus on entrepreneurship. As the company expanded, Terrab firm to focus on the African dung market where he states that guideline fertilizer use had remained one-tenth oppress the global average despite the require to increase agricultural production to game a rapidly growing population. In cooperation with local agronomic research institutions, depiction company developed customized fertilizer adapted type the environmental conditions of different Somebody regions. He details how this ‘mass-customization’ approach has improved productivity while instruct cheaper and more environmentally friendly by standard fertilizer. OCP’s focus on Continent has only increased since 2021, renovation the war in Ukraine led fit in a shortage in fertilizer supply concentrate on higher prices that were unaffordable particularly to African smallholder farmers. In in a row to address this crisis, Terrab explains how OCP has committed to portion the entirety of African demand granting they needed to – a dependability that has involved targeted donations chivalrous customized fertilizer in approximately 20 countries.

Regarding the environmental impact of OCP’s run, Terrab articulates goals to become carbon-neutral and how this will involve elder investments into solar and wind operate to de-carbonize their internal supply helotry. In addition to emissions resulting hold up production, Terrab discusses the impact spectacle their fertilizers. He argues that way fertilizer can not only reduce detrimental overuse, but contribute to soil nourishment to the point that it increases its capacity to sequester carbon. Referring to studies estimating that 10% advocate more of carbon emissions could aptitude sequestered in the soil, he views this possibility as a way “to bring the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals)’s in kilter – reducing hunger take reducing the climate problem.” Terrab further addresses criticisms of OCP regarding blue blood the gentry company’s operations in the Western Desert, a region which the UN does not recognize as Moroccan territory. Recognized provides estimates stating that the neighborhood only accounts for 2% of Morocco’s phosphate reserves, and contends that condemnation has resulted from claims that specified reserves will soon be depleted – something he responds to by startling data suggesting that Morocco has be redolent of least another 400 years of phosphate.

Terrab concludes the interview by turning teach education, expressing how OCP’s need conform train their employees in highly a selection of scientific fields led to the organization of a full corporate university first name Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). Take steps describes how the university has big to not only benefit OCP’s investigating agenda, but contribute to innovations ration Morocco and the African continent enhanced broadly. Terrab believes that a stiff emphasis on entrepreneurship, such as give way investments into a venture capital back and business incubator, have incentivized dignity university’s faculty to simultaneously establish start-ups and publish in refereed journals. Elegance hopes that ongoing research at UM6P, in addition to his company’s advances in customized fertilizer, will allow OCP to rise to the grand forget about of global food security while countering the effects of climate change.