1936 – 2024 · Alexandria · Beirut · Riyadh · Los Angeles · Cairo
Our founder
Paul G. Haddad
From Desert Sand to Gold
- Student
- Broker
- Teacher
- Founder
“I’ve lived many lives in one: student, broker, teacher, founder. But through it all, I remained one thing above all: a curious soul, always learning.”
Four lives in one
A teacher and a student, his whole life.
His journey was “never straight but always purposeful”, guided by two principles: “to build with integrity, and to teach as I learned.”
- 01
Student
From the Lazarists in Alexandria to Aintoura in Lebanon, he called himself “a curious soul, always learning.”
- 02
Broker
From the first policy in Saudi Arabia to opening the doors to broking in Egypt, he built what the law had not yet imagined.
- 03
Teacher
He staffed EBCO with young graduates and mentored “protégés who became competitors (and whose victories I cheered as my own).”
- 04
Founder
UCA, Gras Savoye Willis Egypt, Prime Health, Hadbrok and Tristar: companies built “not for glory, but for impact.”
The journey
Always ahead of the rulebook.
“I believed in innovation, in applying heart to business, and in shaping models not yet imagined by the law.”
- 1936
Alexandria
Born in Alexandria to a Lebanese family. Schooled by the Lazarists at St. Vincent de Paul, then at Aintoura in Lebanon: “a love for learning and an appreciation for discipline.”
The Haddad family, Damascus, 1940s - 1957
Damascus
Graduates from Aintoura and takes his first step into insurance with Generali in Damascus.
Paul G. Haddad, 1957 - 1960s
Saudi Arabia
Issues the first-ever insurance policy in Saudi Arabia, before any formal insurance company existed there.
With Ghaith and Hala Pharaon, 1973 - 1972
UCA
Founds UCA, United Commercial Agencies. With Saudi colleagues he later builds Al Rashad Hospital and the Kingdom’s first medical HMO concept.
UCA board meeting, Saudi Arabia, 1976 - 1980s
United States
Establishes insurance companies and broking firms in the United States.
Paul and Nina Haddad, Las Vegas, 1988 - 1992
EBCO · Cairo
Founds EBCO, staffed by young AUC graduates: Egypt’s first insurance broking venture, 18 years before the law recognised broking firms.
- 1999
Gras Savoye Willis
Founds Gras Savoye Willis in Egypt, a joint venture with the international brokers Willis and Gras Savoye, bringing their expertise to the Egyptian market.
- 2000
Prime Health
Introduces Egypt to its first Health Maintenance Organisation: Prime Health.
- 2005
A first in medical
Brokers the deal behind Egypt’s first single-line medical insurance company, 19 years before Law No. 155 of 2024 recognised such companies.
Paul and Nina Haddad, Egypt, 2005 - 2009
Chevalier · Hadbrok
Receives the Chevalier medal from the French Government. The same year, the law finally allows broking companies: the firm that becomes Hadbrok is born, led by his sons Karim and Cyril.
Receiving the Chevalier medal, Egypt, 2009 - 2014
Brokerslink
Hadbrok joins Brokerslink, the global broking network, today 133 countries, connecting clients in Egypt to partners worldwide.
The Haddad family, 2014 - 2016
Tristar
Founds Tristar Global Health, an HMO and TPA focused on pricing, product development and medical portfolio management.
Egypt, 2020 - 2024
Legacy
Chairman of Hadbrok Holding to the very end, he passes away on 15 September 2024.
Between founding Egypt’s first broking venture (1992) and the law recognising broking firms.
Between Egypt’s first single-line medical insurance company (2005) and the law recognising such companies (2024).
His philosophy
Three principles we still work by.
He believed in “concierge care” before it had a name, in boutique service before it was a trend, and in nurturing teams like family before it became the norm.
- 1
The Cell
Small, self-contained units connected to a central core: a model inspired by nature, built for efficiency and collaboration.
- 2
Boutique Service
Like a boutique hotel: personal, agile and there for you at the critical moment. Business is personal.
- 3
Concierge Care
Client-centred health care: a 24/7 concierge medical service alongside insurance, to meet rising health costs.
What he taught
Build boldly. Love deeply. Teach generously. Never stop learning.Paul G. Haddad, in the letter that opens his memoir
- To his colleaguesa mentor
- To his clientsa trusted partner
- To his familya pillar
- To the industryan architect of possibility
The legacy continues
“He will be missed. But his vision endures.”
Hadbrok is the family business he founded and his sons Karim and Cyril lead today. The tools have changed (online quotes, instant comparisons, offers by email) but not the promise: insurance is about people.
Photographs and quotations from From Desert Sand to Gold – a Memoir, Paul G. Haddad, MDS Publications · Faces of Insurance No. 09 (2025).