Bassem Loukil, a 51-year-old Tunisian businessman, is the Chief Executive Officer of the LOUKIL Group.
Bassem Loukil, who had studied at the Georgia State University starting from 1984, has a PhD in lndustrial Management, in addition to a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences and an MBA in International Finance.
The professional component
Before returning to Tunisia, he decided to have an experience on the other side of the Atlantic, and thus integrated the American giant: Coca Cola Company. As a member of the development team for the Latin American countries, he visited the entire region, mastering the economic complexities and diversification of consumption patterns of these states.
ln 1993, he decided to return to Tunisia and to join the family group, which had been founded by his father in 1976, with the aim of developing it, that is to say diversifying it. Based on the group’s bedrock, namely agriculture and agricultural machinery, he expanded it to include automotive distribution, ICT, as well as industrial activities and international trade. He also targeted extending it to other countries in the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa by opening up new opportunities.
He then held various positions within the group, including the development department: he introduced computer and telecoms activities (in partnership with Acer, Alcatel) and automotive activities (Mazda in 1993, Citroën in 2006 and Renault Trucks in 2015).
Since 1998, he has been acting as Managing Director of the Group. Among his achievements were: the creation of the largest mobile phone sales network Fono, the acquisition of GIF Filter (the Tunisian leader in filters’ manufacturing), the acquisition of AMS (a market leader in the field of tap fittings founded in 1962) and the acquisition of the Renault Trucks and Citroën dealerships, which he placed at the head of the automobile sales in Tunisia (The only country in the world where Citroën is N1 ° in sales).
The Loukil Group is now made up of 35 subsidiaries employing more than 4,500 people in various sectors: industry, automotive, agribusinesses, construction and public works, trade and services, ICT, and renewable energy.
The Economie Component
Besides his group activities, Bassem Loukil is an active participant in his country’s development.
lndeed, thanks to his experience at Coca Cola, he became the Executive Director of The US Tunisian Business Council, chaired by Coca-Cola from 1989 to 1993.
ln 1991, with a group of businessmen, Bassem Loukil took part in the creation of The Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce, of which he became a founding member and treasurer for four years.
From 1993 to 1997, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Arab lnstitute of Business Leaders, a Think Tank designed to meet the needs of business leaders.
From 1995 to 1999, he was a member of the Executive Board of the Tunisian-ltalian Chamber of Commerce and lndustry.
Since 2015, he has been acting as President of the Tunisia Africa Business Council, a non-governmental organization whose aim is to put Africa at the center of the Tunisian government’s foreign policy and a priority for the development of Tunisia’s exports. TABC has mobilized, since, the private sector into many business delegations in several countries such as Mali, Cameroun, and Burkina Faso.
The associative component
Apart from the economic side, Bassem Loukil is involved in charities. He is notably President of the association Diar El Amel, an association that cares for babies without family support, offering them shelter, a family setting within a living environment that today includes 30 babies.
Bassem Loukil is also the President of Amana Foundation, which finances several projects to help people in need in various fields, including primary schools (restoration of abandoned and neglected schools, offering school supplies, scholarships for innovative projects within the framework of Movility, holiday camps, etc.); healthcare & treatment programs as well as cultural activities (a painting workshop for the patients of the association AGIM).
Close to his origins, Bassem Lou kil has repeatedly chaired the Support Committee of the Club Sportif Sfaxien (CSS), which won national and African titles during his presidency.