Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun (born November 14, 1962) is a Moroccan businesswoman. She is CEO and vice-chair of Oulmes Mineral Water of . She is the president of ''Confédération générale des entreprises du Maroc'' from 2012 to 2018. She received the ''Wissam Al-Moukafa Al-Watania'' (Order of National Merit) in 2013, the

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

in 2017 and the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

in 2020.

Biography

Bensalah-Chaqroun was born on November 14, 1962 in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, into a family of five. She is the daughter of Abdelkader Bensalah, one of the signatories of the 1944 Manifesto of Independence and founder of the Holmarcom group, who died in 1993, and sister of Holmarcom CEO Mohamed Hassan Bensalah. In 1986, she graduated from ESCP Europe and the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academi ...

with an MBA in international management and finance. She has three children and is an avid

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

rider, as well as licensed pilot. During a trip to

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

in February 2019, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

, held talks with several prominent businesspeople including Bensalah-Chaqroun.

Career

In May 2012, the ''Confédération générale des entreprises du Maroc'' (CGEM) elected Bensalah-Chaqroun as president, making her the first female to head the organization. After re-election in 2015, King Mohammed VI sent his congratulations and wished her success, citing her "sincere patriotism" and "adoption of constructive dialogue with all economic, social and political partners in Morocco". Under her presidency, Bensalah-Chaqroun received observer status for CGEM at the

2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference was an international meeting of political leaders and activists to discuss environmental issues. It was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 7–18 November 2016. The conference incorporated the twen ...

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

. She completed her second and last term as president in May 2018. In November 2012, Bensalah-Chaqroun joined the board of directors of European satellite operator

Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Eutelsat's satellit ...

. On June 15, 2017, she was appointed as a director of

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

, and had to step down as a director of Eutelsat to accommodate the position. President Trump's Trip to Germany and the G20 Summit (35706156231)

Bensalah-Chaqroun was invited to the

2017 G20 Hamburg summit The 2017 G20 Hamburg summit was the twelfth meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20), which was held on 7–8 July 2017, at Hamburg Messe, in the city of Hamburg, Germany. Agenda Apart from the recurring themes relating to global economic growt ...

by the president of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, Jim Yong Kim, to help launch the World Bank's Women’s Entrepreneur Finance Initiative. She also participated in a panel hosted by

Chrystia Freeland Christina Alexandra Freeland (born August 2, 1968) is a Canadian politician serving as the tenth and current deputy prime minister of Canada since 2019 and the Minister of Finance (Canada), minister of finance since 2020. A member of the Libe ...

where she brought up issues facing

women entrepreneurs Female entrepreneurs are women who organize and manage an enterprise, especially a business. Female entrepreneurship has steadily increased in the United States during the 20th and 21st century, with female owned businesses increasing at a rate ...

in the Middle East and Africa. Bensalah-Chaqroun is currently the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of '' Les Eaux Minérales d'Oulmès'', and a director of Holmarcom.

Honors and awards

On July 30, 2013, at a Throne Day reception, King Mohammed VI awarded Bensalah-Chaqroun with the ''Wissam Al-Moukafa Al-Watania'' (Order of National Merit) with the rank of Grand Officer. At a ceremony on January 9, 2017, Spanish ambassador Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, on behalf of

King Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

, awarded Bensalah-Chaqroun with the

for her contributions to economic relations between Spain and Morocco. On March 29, 2019, Bensalah-Chaqroun received the Fès Gate 2019 award from

Idriss Azami Al Idrissi Idriss Azami Al Idrissi ( ar, إدريس الأزمي الإدريسي, ʾidrīs al-ʾazamī al-ʾidrīsī - born 16 September 1966, Fes) is a Moroccan politician with the Justice and Development Party. Since 3 January 2012, he holds the positi ...

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

Middle East has listed Bensalah-Chaqroun as the fifteenth most powerful Arab woman under the category of family businesses in 2014, thirtieth most powerful Arab businesswomen in 2017, and twenty-sixth most influential woman in 2018. On March 10, 2020, She was decorated as Knight of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensalah-Chaqroun, Miriem Living people 1962 births 20th-century Moroccan people 21st-century Moroccan people Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Moroccan women in business People from Casablanca University of Dallas alumni Women chief executives Women corporate directors Order of Civil Merit members