Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch,The de Facto First Lady of Morocco(since Morocco already has a Queen Consort),is a businesswoman and entrepreneur. She is the founder and current

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Aksal Holding, a Moroccan company specializing in

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

, beauty and

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

and malls. In 2017, she was named as the "Morocco's Leading Lady of Luxury Goods" by OZY.

Career

In 2001, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch sealed an agreement with the Spanish group Inditex. In 2004, she inaugurated the first Zara flagship in Africa. Aksal also owns the sole franchise rights for several leading brands in

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 ...

, including Zara, Banana Republic,

Pull & Bear Pull&Bear () is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Narón (A Coruña), Galicia founded in 1991. It is part of Inditex, owner of Zara and Bershka brands. History The chain was established in 1991 due to the diversification o ...

and Gap. Between 2004 and 2019, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch signed 23 franchise agreements with major international groups including

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...

, PPR, Inditex, Richemont, Gap Inc.,

Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...

and

The Estée Lauder Companies The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. ( ; stylized as ESTĒE LAUDER) is an American multinational cosmetics company, a manufacturer and marketer of makeup, skincare, fragrance and hair care products, based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is ...

, among others. In 2011, she inaugurated the Morocco Mall, the second largest shopping center in Africa. Spread over 10 hectares on the Corniche de

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 ...

and based on an investment of 175 million euros (250 million dollars). The Aksal group owns 50% of the Morocco Mall. Akhannouch created a Training Academy for careers in retail, the AKSAL Academy, in the same year. In 2017, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch launched ''Yan&One'', her own brand dedicated to beauty. She opened her new smart beauty and cosmetics store for the brand in Morocco Mall.

Personal life

Salwa Akhannouch is the sencond highest ranking woman after Princess Lalla Salma ,the Princess Consort.She's married to Aziz Akhannouch, who took office as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

on 7 October 2021.She's therefore the Country's

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

. They have three children.

Honors and awards

* 2020: Top 10 "Women Behind Middle Eastern Brands" as the creator of Yan&One brand by ''

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 ...

'' * 2018: Ranked among "Fashion Industry's 500 Most Influential Women" by ''Business of Fashion Magazine'' * 2017: Named as the one of "Most Influential Women in Business in Africa" by

The Africa Report ''The Africa Report'' is an English-language quarterly magazine that focuses on African politics and economics. History and profile Created in 2005 by Paris-based Jeune Afrique Media Group, ''The Africa Report'' is edited by Africa Confidential ...

* 2016:

Arab Woman of the Year Award The Arab Women of the Year Awards were created in 2015 and are organized by the ''London Arabia Organisation'' with support from the Mayor of London, Regent's University London and The Bicester Village Shopping Collection corporate partners. They a ...

for "Achievement in Business" * 2015: 8th rank among the 100 most powerful Arab businesswomen by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English- and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

References

Living people Moroccan businesspeople Chief executives in retail Retail company founders Women chief executives 21st-century businesswomen Shilha people Year of birth missing (living people) Moroccan women company founders {{Morocco-bio-stub