Arega Yirdaw
- CEO
- MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group
- Ethiopia
About MIDROC: MIDROCK ia a multi-sector organization with second-to-none leadership positions in each of our products and services by exceeding the expectations of our customers, employees, shareholders and the community. Our mission is to create a multifaceted multinational enterprise in all product and service offerings, meeting the needs of the workers, the owners and the community. Companies range from management services, to gold mining, to manufacturing and food distribution.
Nomination in Brief
Arega Yirdaw leads an Ethiopian company owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi business tycoon Sheik Mohamed Hussein Al-amoudi. Dr. Arega’s religion is Orthodox Christian while his employees are Christians, Muslims as well as atheists. However, he promotes interfaith understanding in his company in numerous ways, including acknowledgement and celebration of all holidays from the religions of employees.
Read Arega Yirdaw 2018 Nomination form (Word Doc)
Bio
Dr. Arega Yirdaw spent 20 years in the United States honing his skills at a series of major corporations. But he never lost sight of an even bigger goal – building the business and education infrastructure of his home country. Now the CEO of Ethiopia’s MIDROC Technology Group, he leads his nation’s largest gold mine, its first private university and 15 other entities. He’s built one of Ethiopia’s most respected companies — and is the recipient of the Center for Creative Leadership’s 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award. Yirdaw became CEO in 2000 of MIDROC Technology Group, which has more than 6,000 employees and generates $300 million in annual revenues. As president of Unity University, he partnered with CCL in 2010 to open its first African office in Addis Ababa. Yirdaw began his career in aviation and aerospace engineering in 1970 with Ethiopian Airlines. He later worked in engineering and management roles in the United States at Boeing, BorgWarner Fluid Controls/Western Hydraulics and HR Textron. He has authored several professional articles for newspapers and magazines and belongs to a number of professional associations, including The Royal Aeronautical Society of the United Kingdom.
More Detail
Dr. Arega leads a company owned by Ethiopian born Saudi business-tycoon Sheik Mohamed Hussein Al-amoudi who is the Chairman of Midroc Ethiopia. His brother Sheik Hassen Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi is also the Deputy Chairman and Owner of Midroc. Dr. Arega’s religion is Orthodox Christian while his employees are Christians, Muslims and most brobably Atheists. However, he promotes peace in his company. For example, while the owner and his family as well as Muslim Ethiopians celebrate Muslim’s holiday he passes holiday greeting and best wishes message through national media. He does the same for Christian’s holiday. In addition, he has managed to maintain religious tolerance among interfaith groups of the company’s employee. As a picture is worthiest than thousand words, below are pictures that demonstrate when Dr. Arega is using one of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian’s holiday /True Cross/ to bring together CEOs of his companies and employees and celebrate in his office compound. Both the owner and the CEO are from Ethiopian region known as Wollo which is best known for interfaith tolerance. He brought the society culture to his company’s business environment and is successful.
Nominated by:
- Workineh Gebeyehu
- AA Import & Export