SPEAKERS

Hicham El Habti is the President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) since October 2020. Mr. El Habti joined the OCP Group in January 2013, where he held various positions before being appointed Deputy Secretary-General. Prior to joining the OCP Group, he held several strategic and managerial positions in Morocco and France. He graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique with a degree in applied mathematics and economics, and he also holds a Master's degree (DESS) from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées.

Christophe Lecourtier is the Ambassador of France to Morocco. Before being named Ambassador to Morocco, Mr. Lecourtier was the Ambassador of France to Australia and then Serbia. Mr. Lecourtier was also the Director General of Business France (2017-2022) and Ubifrance (2008-2014). He is a graduate of École nationale d’administration (promotion Victor Hugo) and graduated from École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud and Institut d’études politiques de Paris (SciencesPo Paris).

Thomas Melonio is the Executive Director of Innovation, Strategy, and Research at the French Development Agency (AFD). This department conducts economic and social research, evaluates AFD-funded projects, trains developing country management personnel, finances innovative projects related to the environment, and helps share innovation across AFD’s other divisions. Thomas Melonio previously served as adviser to the French President on Africa. He received his PhD from Institut d’études politiques de Paris  (SciencesPo Paris). 

Chakib Benmoussa is the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports since October 2021. Prior to his nomination, Mr. Benmoussa chaired the Special Commission on the Development Model (2019-2021). Mr. Benmoussa has held a number of government positions, notably Ambassador of Morocco to France and to Monaco (2013-2021), President of the Economic and Social Council (2011-2013), and Minister of the Interior (2006-2010). Mr. Benmoussa is also a member of the CGEM Board, of the Ministerial Committee of Education and Training and of the Committee of Permanent Support at the Mohammed V Foundation. Mr. Benmoussa received his diploma in Engineering from École Polytechnique de Paris, from l’École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées-Paris and a Master of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a diploma in project management from Institut Supérieur de Commerce et d’Administration des Entreprises (ISCAE). 

Esther Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a co-founder and co-director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). In her research, she seeks to understand the economic lives of the poor, with the aim to help design and evaluate social policies. She is the recipient of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, awarded jointly with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty." She received a PhD in Economics from MIT in 1999.

Youssef Saadani is the advisor to the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports and specializes in economic analysis, entrepreneurship and education. He started his career as an economist at Bank Al Maghrib and then at the World Bank, before joining CDG as the Director of Economic Studies. He then became the Chief Operating Officer at Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion-Investissement (CDG Invest). Mr. Saddani was also named a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics from Paris-Dauphine University and a Masters in Macroeconomics from Institut d’études politiques de Paris (SciencesPo Paris).

Lou Aisenberg is a Strategic Development Project Manager for the Innovation, Data and Experiments in Education (IDEE) programme, within J-PAL Europe. IDEE is an initiative funded by the French government to support the development of experimental research in education in France. Lou previously worked in a What Works Centre for education in the UK and at the OECD.

Virginie Delisee-Pizzo is Head of the Education, Professional Training, Teaching and Employment Division at the French Development Agency (AFD). She was previously Director of AFD in La Réunion. She received a diploma in Business Communication from CELSA - Sorbonne University and a degree in Business Law from the University of Paris - Nanterre. 

Laurent Lima is a senior lecturer and head of the Education Sciences Department at Grenoble Alpes University. He works at the Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Apprentissages en Contexte (LaRAC), a multi-disciplinary research laboratory rooted in the field of educational sciences, which carries out longitudinal and experimental studies. LaRAC's research aims to support evidence-based interventions.

Hicham Ait Mansour leads the National Authority of Evaluation of the Superior Council of Education, Training, and Research since March 2023. Mr. Ait Mansour is a Sociology professor at Mohammed V University of Rabat and a founding member of the Social Policy in MENA network, based at the University of Bath. He holds a Doctorate degree in Sociology from Mohammed V University in Rabat and a Masters in Policy Research from the University of Bristol in the UK. He is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and, from 2013 to 2014, joined the City University of New York as a visiting researcher. 

Marc Gurgand is a CNRS researcher and professor at the Paris School of Economics (PSE) and the Ecole Normale Supérieure-Paris Sciences et Lettres (ENS-PSL). He is affiliated to J-PAL and Scientific Director of J-PAL Europe and the Innovation, Data and Experiments in Education (IDEE) programme. He is Co-Chair of the European Social Inclusion Initiative and has carried out numerous impact assessments, particularly in the field of education, but also of employment and inclusion.

Mr. Touhami is a Full Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. He was a full professor at the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA) for more than 30 years. He has been, for several years, a visiting professor at the Université de Montréal, the Université Paris-Dauphine and the Université de Paris I. In 2017, he was decorated on behalf of His Majesty King Mohammed VI with the Wissam Al Arch of the Order of Knight. Mr. Touhami received his PhD from the Department of Economics at the Université de Montréal. He has a double specialization in Development and Growth and in Econometrics.

Mohamed Soual is the President of the Association for the Promotion of Educational Excellence. He has also served as Director Advisor to the CEO of OCP S.A, Director of the Deposits and Consignments division of the CDG Group, and a member of its executive committee. He has also worked as an international governance expert for UNDP, OECD, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Mohamed Soual is an engineer from the École nationale de l'aviation civile in Toulouse (1980) and holds a certificate in Advanced General Management from HEC Paris.

Bruno Crépon is a researcher at the Research Centre on Economics and Statistics (CREST) and Professor of Economics and Econometrics at ENSAE and École Polytechnique. He is affiliated to J-PAL, Co-Chair of the Labour Markets sector of J-PAL, Scientific Director of J-PAL MENA and Co-Director of the Morocco Employment Lab. His research focuses on the evaluation of public policies, and more specifically on labor market policies.

Karim El Aynaoui is the Executive Vice-President of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Dean of its Social Sciences, Economics and Humanities Cluster and Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics and International Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an Economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as Sub Saharan Africa. Mr. El Aynaoui serves as advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group, and is a board member of  OCP Foundation. Karim El Aynaoui holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bordeaux in France where he taught courses in Statistics and Economics for three years.

Rema Hanna holds the Jeffrey Cheah Chair in Southeast Asian Studies and is Co-Director of the Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) research programme at Harvard University. She is affiliated with J-PAL, Scientific Director of J-PAL's Southeast Asia office and Co-Director of the Morocco Employment Lab. Rema's work focuses on understanding how to make government services more effective for disadvantaged populations in developing countries.

Mr. Younes Sekkouri is the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment, and Skills since October 2021. Prior to his appointment as minister, Younes Sekkouri served as Dean and Managing Director for the Africa Region at École des Ponts Business School (since 2017). Specializing in innovation in business models, digital transformation, leadership, strategy, and design of public policies, he is also an expert with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in the areas of economic policy, industrial policy, and structural transformation. He also served on the Strategic Committee for the United Nations Secretary-General's Arab Human Development Report (2014-2016), focusing on Arab youth. Younes Sekkouri holds a Doctorate in Strategy from Institut Supérieur de Commerce et d’Administration des Entreprises (ISCAE). He also holds two Executive MBAs from École des Ponts Business School in Paris (France) and the Fox School of Business at Temple University (USA). He is a laureate of the Aspen Institute in Paris and holds a diploma as a State Engineer in Telecommunications from the National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications in Rabat.