Rabat – Forbes has included two Moroccan businessmen in the Middle East edition of its “Top 100 CEOs in The Middle East 2022” list, which featured Mohamed El Kettani, CEO of Attijariwafa Bank and Mohamed Karim Mounir, CEO of Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP).
The American business magazine creates its annual rankings based on candidates’ career experiences, accomplishments, initiatives, and the size of their businesses.
For its 2022 list, Forbes featured the region’s top 100 CEOs, who operate in 19 sectors and come from 26 different countries.
“Irrespective of the economic environment, market conditions, and other factors, it is the CEO who bears most of the responsibility for the success or failure of the company they lead,” Forbes said in a press release.
The magazine added that the Middle East region has witnessed a “clear separation between ownership and management” within government-owned and public companies, which pushes CEOs to invest in innovative technology, and environmental and social initiatives for long-term benefits.
Last year, the region also experienced “a reversal in fortunes, with record profits, new investments, large IPOs, and mega deals taking center stage,” Forbes noted.
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Nationals from the UAE dominated the list with 19 entries, ahead of Egyptians with 16 entries, and Saudis with 15.
Additionally, 27 selected CEOs operated in the banking and finance sector, eight in telecommunications, and seven in both health energy and logistics.
The featured companies are worth more than $5 trillion combined.
Mohamed El Kettani
Mohamed El Kettani, CEO of Attijariwafa Bank, ranked 45th on the list. In June, Forbes placed the Moroccan bank 23rd among the top 100 listed companies in the Middle East.
As Morocco’s largest bank, Attijariwafa Bank has a market value of $10.3 billion. With roughly 10.6 million customers in Morocco and Africa, the bank recorded $4.3 billion in sales and $630 million in profits as of 2022.
Besides serving as the head of Attijariwafa Bank, El Kettani is an Officer of the Order of the Throne of King Mohammed VI and an Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor of France.
Following the expansion of the Moroccan bank throughout Africa, El Kettani was appointed in 2019 as the Commander of the National Order of Cote d’Ivoire by the Ivorian Grand Chancellor.
Mohamed Karim Mounir
Mohamed Karim Mounir, Chairman of BCP, placed 57th on Forbes’ CEOs list, while his bank was ranked 46th in the Middle East by the American business magazine.
Like Attijariwafa Bank, BCP has a large footprint in Africa, where it operates in 24 countries. The company has a current market value of $5.5 billion with sales reaching $2.7 billion.
BCP has also worked on supporting talented students and owners of small projects through numerous initiatives.
As the CEO of BCP, Mounir has committed to expanding the company’s operations in Morocco and across the region. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Union de Banques Arabes et Françaises SA, Involys, among others.
