Out of the ordinary we tell you!

Among all the awards presented during the LOBBY AWARDS ceremony, there is one that is particularly close to our hearts, both in terms of its category profile and the 2022 Winner.

Here, we should write Laureate because the award we are talking about is the Female Leadership of the Year. An award that every year rewards an extraordinary woman. And this year is no exception since it was given to Ilham Kadri. She had already been nominated by LOBBY. But it was as Revelation of the Year. So, without wanting to throw us too much flowers, we can say that we had the wrong idea.

To begin with, we must recognize that we are here in the presence of an extraordinary personality. And as often, to return on the youth and the course of someone of this size, allows to better understand how this one could arrive where it is today. Let's go then!

Ilham Kadri's life is told like a novel is read. How did this Franco-Moroccan woman, born into an economically modest family in Casablanca, become the only woman to run a BEL20 company? This is a real success story, as we like them.

One of the answers to this question certainly lies in Ilham's strength of character. One example is particularly telling. In October 2018, when she had just been appointed, somewhat to everyone's surprise, to head Solvay, a meeting was organized with a handful of journalists, but off the record (microphones turned off). Assailed by questions, she suddenly and skilfully went off on a tangent: " It's my turn to ask you questions," she cut in, smiling broadly, looking the journalists straight in the eye. And you, what advice would you give me for this job?" Faced with such a direct style, a journalist then went straight to the point: "Precisely, don't be satisfied with being a symbol." Judging by the sparkling look in her eyes, the answer must have pleased the multi-national's boss a lot.

And this strong character has allowed Ilham Kadri to break many taboos. Because, neither coming from a great school, nor from a great family, she needed a lot of tenacity (in addition to her intelligence of course) to get there. " It's true that her appointment ended up looking more like a social event, especially on social networks, than a strategic decision for the company," said the outgoing boss, Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, who was very involved in the recruitment process.

It would be unfair to portray this chemist by training without mentioning her grandmother. For it has been established that she also has her merit in the success of her granddaughter, she who raised her. Indeed, it is Fatima, an illiterate cleaning lady, who took in Ilham after her parents' divorce in her small one-room apartment. " I think of her every day, she gave me the ingredients that allowed me to become who I am. A magnificent declaration of love and gratitude!

During this period of her youth, Ilham Kadri took refuge in reading and devoured authors such as Mishima, Baudelaire, Tahar Ben Jelloun. " This food for the soul allowed me to escape. Fatima instilled in her that education is the only way to escape the saying that a girl has only two outcomes in life: her husband's house or the grave. A third way, in short. "With her, nothing was impossible. The proof: at 17 years old, despite a typhoid that she almost died of, Ilham obtained her baccalaureate and even a scholarship to study in France. Freedom! She joined her mother in Besançon, the birthplace of Victor Hugo, for her preparatory classes. Her analytical mind was drawn to science in general and chemistry in particular. After graduating in France and Quebec, she found her first job at Shell in Belgium. The rest, we know it...

This is an inspiring story in more ways than one. Ilham Kadri is an exceptional woman and LOBBY, at its level, is happy to have been able to include her in its 2022 list of winners.

If you want to know more about Ilham Kadri, see LOBBY's article on this extraordinary woman here, on page 30.

In the meantime, do you know how many women head a French CAC40 company? Orange, Engie and Veolia, that is to say only three companies, are headed by women... So, as for us: "Can do better!