Maroc Telecom’s Management Board accepted the resignation of Abdeslam Ahizoune during a meeting at the end of February under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui.  Mohamed Benchaâboun replaces him as Chairman of the Management Board of Itissalat Al Maghrib (IAM).

Ahizoune had been at the helm of the incumbent operator for 27 long years. These 27 years were marked by strong expansion both in Morocco and in African markets, but also plagued by legal troubles which ultimately cost IAM dearly. So much so, in fact, that it affected the investment prospects of Maroc Telecom’s majority shareholder, the Emirati group « E& » (formerly Etissalat).

A telecommunications dinosaur

Born in Tiflet, Abdeslam Ahizoune is a product of the rise of the telecommunications industry. Few can boast comparable experience. At the age of 22, after graduating from the Télécom ParisTech engineering school, Ahizoune held the position of Director of Telecommunications at the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications from 1983 to 1992, before becoming Minister of Telecommunications from 1992 to 1995 and from 1997 to 1998 under the Lamrani and Filali government respectively.

From 1992 to 1997, Ahizoune was also head of the Office National des Postes et Télécommunications (ONPT).  Maroc Telecom was incorporated in 1998 following the demerger of the ONPT and the liberalization of the telecommunications market. Abdeslam Ahizoune was appointed Chairman and CEO. Following Vivendi Universal’s acquisition of a stake in Maroc Telecom in 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Management Board, a position he held until he was replaced by Mohamed Benchaâboun effective March 1, 2025.

For a long time, Abdeslam Ahizoune was seen as the man for the job, the man who enabled Maroc Telecom to conquer African markets

For a long time, Abdeslam Ahizoune was seen as the man for the job who enabled Maroc Telecom to expand into African markets with a presence – and substantial market share – in eleven countries (Mauritania, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Gabon). But his style has also earned him criticism, particularly in the area of communication.

As in October 2017 at the launch of a vast public relations campaign aimed at African markets. Ahizoune had announced the signing of a contract with French heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner to make him the brand’s ambassador in Africa. This decision outraged many Internet users on the continent who argued that Teddy Riner, who has roots in Guadeloupe, had no ties whatsoever to Africa. The outpouring of negative reactions forced Maroc Telecom to suspend its entire campaign.

However, this blunder had no impact on the group’s expansion through the launch of its Moov Africa brand in 2020, currently present in ten countries across the continent.

A costly monopoly move

In parallel with its international expansion, the operator has had to deal with a series of convictions in Morocco for anti-competitive practices and abuse of a dominant position.

It all began with the unbundling of the local loop, which was supposed to give new operators (Meditel, later Orange Maroc, then inwi) access to ADSL service infrastructures in return for a fee paid to Maroc Telecom. After several twists and turns, the case came to a head in July 2022, when IAM was ordered to pay a penalty of 2.45 billion dirhams.

The case was repeated on January 17, 2020, when the incumbent operator was accused of abusing its dominant position by obstructing its competitors’ access to its unbundled network and to the fixed-line market. The Agence Nationale de Régulation des Télécoms (ANRT) ordered Maroc Telecom to pay a fine of 3.3 billion dirhams.

The latest case? A dispute with Wana Corporate (INWI) over unfair competition. The complaint, filed in 2021, led to a first-instance decision by the Rabat Commercial Court in January 2024, ordering Maroc Telecom to pay a hefty 6.3 billion dirhams in compensation to its competitor. Despite Maroc Telecom’s effort, this decision was upheld on appeal six months later. According to numerous sources, this enforceable judgment precipitated the ousting of Abdeslam Ahizoune as Chairman of IAM’s Management Board.

In the space of four years, the country’s leading operator has had to pay out a total of over 12 billion dirhams. A heavy burden that is hampering the group’s investment policy, as members of the supervisory board have pointed out in a few rare media appearances.

An appointment that reassures the market

IAM’s emblematic CEO will be replaced by Mohamed Benchaâboun, appointed to head the Management Board for a two-year term. Benchaâboun is tasked with turning around the company and putting its house in order. Former President of the People’s Central Bank from 2008 to 2018, then Minister of the Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform in Saad-Eddine El Othmani’s government, Mohamed Benchaâboun was then appointed Moroccan Ambassador to France (from 2021 to 2023), before taking over as CEO of the Mohammed VI Investment Fund.

It’s a paradigm shift. The telecoms technician gives way to a highly experienced manager. Will Benchaâboun be the providential man who will enable the national operator to turn the page on its legal woes? In any case, the impact of this new appointment was not long in coming on the stock market. Given Maroc Telecom’s share performance, the arrival of Mohamed Benchaâboun has been positively received by investors: following the announcement of the change in management, Itissalat Al-Maghrib’s share price rose from 109.55 to 116 dirhams in just 24 hours.

It was an announcement that took everyone by surprise. The resignation of Abdeslam Ahizoune as head of Maroc Telecom and his replacement by Mohamed Benchaâboun is a major strategic turning point for the incumbent telephone operator. Read all about it. pic.twitter.com/zcg23l7oKQ-

TelQuel (@TelQuelOfficiel) March 5, 2025

Written in French by Amine Belghazi; edited in English by AngloMedia Group