David Feldman - The Joseph Chalhoub Collection of Egypt I. Commemoratives Monday, December 3, 2018, at 13:00 CET

Joseph Chalhoub Joseph Chalhoub was born in Choubrah, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, on March 18, 1946. His parents, Henri Chalhoub and Georgette Kabrita, were also born in Egypt. His grandparents were Syrian-Lebanese. They arrived in Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century. At the age of four, Joseph’s family moved to Heliopolis, a city close to Cairo International Airport. He grew up there with his sisters Gilberte, Gisèle and Ginette. He attended the Collège des Frères de La Salle in Heliopolis and then went on to secondary school at the same college, but in Daher, a suburb of Cairo. He graduated in 1963. In the same year, he enrolled at Cairo University for studies in chemical engineering and in his second year, at the age of 19, he emigrated to Canada. The seeds of this decision were defined in the summer of 1960, when the socialist president Nasser nationalised all major industries. Joseph, still a young boy, could not imagine working for nationalised industrial enterprises when he became an adult. During this period, many families of Syrian-Lebanese origin had planned to emigrate to Canada, the United States, Australia or Europe. Joseph arrived in Montreal on December 18, 1965 and immediately thereafter he enrolled at the École Polytechnique of the Université de Montréal for the second semester of the third year of engineering. During his studies, he lived with his beloved grandmother, Lucie. He graduated B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering in the spring of 1968 with great distinction. After graduating he started working for Shell Canada as a process engineer and later he held positions within the department responsible for optimising the multitude of refinery units. In 1973, he married his first wife Lise Poirier and they had 4 children: Patrick, Valérie, Pierre and Robert. In 1974, he joined SNC, a major engineering firm based in Montreal as a process engineer on several projects. He also worked in the Nuclear Power Plant Design Division. Finally, he undertook feasibility studies in Canada and Africa. In 1977, at the age of 31, he decided to start a company for the recycling of used oil and founded Breslube Entreprises in Breslau, Ontario. It expanded to become the largest recycling company of used lubricating oils in North America with processing capacities in Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania with branches in Quebec, Ontario and several Northeastern and Midwestern States of the United States. In 1987, Safety Kleen, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, purchased a controlling interest in Breslube Enterprises. Joseph remained at the company, of which he was appointed president in 1997. When Safety Kleen was sold in 1998, he left it and returned to Montreal. In 1995, he married Sandra Albers and they had four more children: Stephen, Joseph, Henri and Alexandra. In 1999, he founded Heritage-Crystal Clean in Elgin, Illinois, USA to provide environmental services to small and medium- sized enterprises. The company grew to become the second largest in the United States offering these services. In 2008, it was listed on the NASDAQ. Today, with 1,200 employees, Heritage-Crystal Clean serves more than 100,000 businesses in the United States through branches in 40 states. In 2005, Joseph led the development of a project to build a cathedral in Montreal for the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church. He oversaw the design, fundraising, financial structure and construction, which was finished in 2007. He is a fervent collector of Egyptian stamps, including postal history, essays and colour trials. His collection includes several correspondences from the campaign of Napoleon in Egypt, including a letter signed by Napoleon Bonaparte himself. He collects every aspect of Egyptian Philately and his collection is considered to be the most comprehensive Egyptian stamp collection ever formed. In 2004, he published a catalogue of stamps, “The Nile Post, Handbook and Catalogue of Egyptian Stamps” which became the main reference for Egyptian stamp collectors and auction houses internationally. Regarding his other hobbies, he loves to build a growing organization. He also enjoys cooking and spending time with his large family, including six grandchildren. Joseph Chalhoub is the recipient of the following awards and recognitions: • 2005 and 2006: Several gold medals in international competitions for the stamp catalogue “The Nile Post, Handbook and Catalogue of Egyptian Stamps”. • 2011: Heritage-Crystal Clean is recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the best small American companies. • 2012: Diamond Jubilee Medal for the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; in recognition for his contributions to Canada. • 2012: USA-Midwest Award of Entrepreneur of the Year. • 2015: KNIGHT COMMANDER of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great (Civil Class), Great Badge (shield); this recognition was awarded by the Vatican during the papacy of Francis. Joseph’s philanthropy covers a variety of areas including child health and well-being and food gathering, but he offers most of his donations to the Melkite Church in Canada; he has been a member of the Conseil Éparchial for Economic Affairs (CEAE) since 2000, President of the Fondation Cathédrale Saint Sauveur since its creation in 2005, and was Chairman of the Council of the Saint-Sauveur Parish of Montreal from 2006 to 2010.