Since the beginning, Salma Moukbil, General Manager of Toyota Morocco, has nurtured a passion for challenges. It started on the benches of Al Akhawayn University (AUI), from 2001 to 2005. “I did a bachelor’s in finance and another in marketing. Those were two fields I was extremely interested in. AUI offered the opportunity to pursue two majors at the same time and gain that versatility,” recalls the General Manager of Toyota Morocco.
A dual skill set that proved to be decisive for the rest of her professional career. “It allowed me to explore the intersection between these two fields, which ultimately complement each other. You can’t do finance without having the strategic mindset of a marketer. And when you work in marketing, finance helps structure your strategies,” she explains.
Rejecting boxes, embracing possibilities
Driven by a desire to succeed, she began her career at Samir. A position she left after only six months to join Toyota Morocco as a management trainee. That means there was no specific title. She worked in every department, she explains. A lucky break for the young manager, who doesn’t like being confined to one department and avoids labels.
So she had the opportunity to work in the workshop, which is of major importance in ensuring quality after-sales service, she emphasizes. After gaining experience in all departments—sales, finance, marketing, commerce, and more—she was given the chance to choose her own department. She chose marketing. She started at the bottom of the ladder and eventually earned the title of product manager. She held that position until 2009, when she moved into CRM (Customer Relationship Management). At the time, she was the first to launch digital marketing at the company. Digital tools were still underdeveloped, and CRM was not yet an important department.
From CRM to general management: rising through strategy
“We really stood out through major projects focused on customer relations and digital. Toyota was thus able to transform itself and manage the entire customer relationship brilliantly. Hence the need to take risks, have a clear vision, and not be satisfied with the status quo”
“We really stood out through major projects focused on customer relations and digital. Toyota was thus able to transform itself and brilliantly manage the entire customer relationship. Hence the need to take risks, have a clear vision, and not be satisfied with the status quo,” she reflects on the experience. Added to that were leadership and interpersonal skills. “The business world is about know-how and, above all, about soft skills. And that too, I learned at AUI,” notes Salma Moukbil.
After five years as CRM manager, she was promoted to marketing director in 2014. A very strategic department at Toyota: “It’s a profit center. We set up the product strategy, pricing, etc. And we also handle several commercial aspects.” One of the biggest challenges in that role? “Marketing hybrids in a market that was entirely diesel-oriented at the time.”
That challenge served as a springboard from marketing to general management, which she took over in 2018. Thanks to that 360° project, hybrids gained a foothold in the market. Toyota sales increased by more than 30% in a market that saw less than 2% growth over the past five years. Salma Moukbil emphasizes: “Hybrids are now synonymous with Toyota.”
Written in French by Jankari Consulting, edited in English by Eric Nielson
