THE FUSE

At thirteen years old, Rita Maria Zniber held the Moroccan national record in the women's long jump. She was also captain of the basketball team at Lycée Descartes, the French high school in Rabat, and she rode horses. She dreamed of becoming a lawyer or a doctor. What she became, eventually, was the chairman and chief executive of one of the largest privately owned companies in Morocco, running an empire that generates revenues exceeding MAD 4 billion (approximately $370 million to $400 million) annually, employs more than 7,000 people directly and supports 24,000 more across its supply chain.