In January 2000, Laila Benjelloun Touimi walked into L’Oréal Morocco with a handwritten internship application. Twenty-six years later, she is its Chairwoman.
The Moroccan executive took on the role on October 1, 2026, after serving as Managing Director of L’Oréal Morocco since 2019.
Her career inside the company has taken her from marketing roles in Morocco to regional responsibilities in Paris, then back to Casablanca — where she eventually rose to lead the local business.
During her time as Managing Director, L’Oréal Morocco doubled its revenue, increased market share and passed the MAD 1 billion mark.
That gives her latest promotion weight beyond the title itself.
From Intern To Managing Director
Benjelloun Touimi joined L’Oréal Morocco in 2000 after graduating from ISCAE.
She began as an intern before moving through several marketing positions.
Her career later took her to Paris, where she worked on the development of L’Oréal Paris across the Africa-Middle East region.
She returned to Morocco in 2014 to lead the Consumer Products Division.
Five years later, in 2019, she was appointed Managing Director of L’Oréal Morocco.
In reflecting on her latest appointment, Benjelloun Touimi recalled the handwritten internship application she had left at the company’s reception desk at the start of her career.
What began as a first step into the beauty industry became a 26-year rise through the same organisation.
Revenue Doubled Under Her Leadership
Her years as Managing Director coincided with a period of significant growth for L’Oréal Morocco.
The subsidiary doubled revenue, gained market share and moved beyondMAD 1 billion in turnover.
The business also moved into a new headquarters carrying bothHQE Gold and LEED Platinum certifications.
Those results make the leadership transition particularly notable.
Benjelloun Touimi is moving into the Chairwoman role after overseeing a period in which the Moroccan subsidiary became larger and more established.
A New Role, Not A Departure
She is not leaving L’Oréal Morocco.
As Chairwoman, Benjelloun Touimi will focus more closely on institutional relationships, Moroccan stakeholders and support for the local activities of the L’Oréal Foundation.
Gilles Delaunay has taken over as Managing Director.
The change therefore represents a shift in responsibilities rather than the end of Benjelloun Touimi’s career with the company.
She moves from running the subsidiary day to day to taking a broader strategic and institutional role.
A Career Built Inside One Company
Benjelloun Touimi’s story stands out partly because it runs against a familiar assumption about modern careers.
Professional advancement is often associated with changing employers.
Her path followed a different model.
She built experience across functions and geographies inside the same group, then returned to Morocco and eventually led the local business.
The progression is straightforward:
internship, marketing, international experience, business leadership, Chairwoman.
What gives it substance is that each step was accompanied by increasing responsibility and, most recently, measurable business growth.
A Moroccan Executive At The Top Of A Global Beauty Group
Her appointment also places a Moroccan executive in a senior leadership role within one of the world’s largest beauty companies.
That matters in a market where multinational businesses increasingly rely on local executives who understand both global corporate structures and the specific dynamics of Morocco.
Benjelloun Touimi’s career shows what that can look like over the long term.
She entered L’Oréal Morocco as an intern.
She later ran the business.
Revenue doubled under her leadership.
And 26 years after that first internship application, she now chairs the company she once asked simply to join.