Karim Maachi On What It Takes To Lead A Top Global Management Company

Karim Maachi is the founder and CEO of Cardel Group, a Global Management Services company that has been disrupting the travel, business, sports and publicity management service sectors since its launch years ago. With Karim leading the way, his company has been a one-stop spot for corporations, athletes and entertainment professionals that need help in any area of their careers or business. 

And while the pandemic closed down a lot of sectors, Karim’s Cardel Group was able to initiate a structural change to help their clients out. “Our positioning in the market is unique and our customers have been centralizing their requests within our business units for many years. The pandemic has allowed us to make several acquisitions and strengthen our leadership position in the outsourcing services market. A large number of service providers have disappeared during this major crisis impacting the business travel and luxury sector. We were therefore able to sign a large number of contracts in 2020 and returned to our “2019” reference turnover in 2021. The 2022 turnover projections are very promising with an increase estimated at +50%,” explains Karim to us exclusively. 

Karim was able to come here to America from France with his expertise and take over an industry in America that is so hard for others to break into. But he tells us, it was his credibility and experience worldwide that helped here in the US:

“The big difference with France is the ease of communication and exchanges in business. If you are good in your field and you provide quality and innovative service like ours, things go very quickly in the United States and especially in a city like Los Angeles. Things take more time in France and more generally in Europe and the volume of transactions and potential for development is less.”

With Karim’s many divisions in management, it is his travel division that has really caught the eye of those wanting to get around safely and quickly. And with the changing times, his company was one of the first to make the change to go fully electric with their fleet.

“We started this transformation 5 years ago. We have acquired several electric and hybrid vehicles and are planning an 80% electric fleet by the end of 2023. One of the many services we provide to our clients is Global Ground Transportation services. We own our fleet in Europe and have excellent relationships with the most prestigious brands such as Cadillac, Mercedes, and BMW…. The fleet is renewed every 3 years, representing several million investments, and the fact of committing to a total renewal of our fleet allows us to obtain significant financial aid from the government and car dealers. Our drivers are also trained to respect our “green commitment process” and our system allows us to track the driver’s performances.”

With the global management industry always changing, Karim is a prime example of how management can lead to handling many different aspects of a client’s life/career. And when it comes to luxury tourism, Karim has shown that the sky’s the limit with his various acquisitions to help meet the high demands of his celebrity clients. But when it comes to others trying to make it in business, Karim gives us all this advice:

“The experiences entrepreneurs faced in the 2 past years were challenging. I think it is important today to believe that better days and opportunities are coming and that everyone is capable of producing them. If you’re still here, it means something, so don’t ever doubt your ability to accomplish your dreams…Keep showing up on your tough days, best days, and in-between days… Everything happens as it should when it should!”