Lamia Tazi Chairwoman & CEO · Sothema Contact

Milestones & Recognition

Only what can be sourced

Every entry on this page corresponds to a publicly reported event. Nothing has been added to lengthen the list, and where reports differ on a date, the discrepancy is stated rather than smoothed over.

Lamia Tazi at a corporate event in front of the Sothema identity

Era one

1976
–1996

The company that would later be led. Foundation, industrial firsts, and the technical direction that shaped everything after.

26 January 1976
Sothema founded by Omar Tazi. Société de Thérapeutique Marocaine is established to manufacture and market medicines, headquartered at Bouskoura.
1981
Bouskoura industrial site inaugurated. The manufacturing base that now extends over 60,000 square metres.
Early 1980s
Insulin and injectable solutions. Production begins, making Sothema the first African producer of animal-origin insulin. Reports give the start of insulin production as 1982 or 1983; the early-1980s framing reflects that variance.
Across the period
The first 100% Moroccan pharmaceutical industrialist. Sothema is recorded as the first wholly Moroccan laboratory to operate as a genuine manufacturer rather than as an importer or licensee.

Era two

1997
–2018

Entry, statutory accountability, operating leadership — and the listing that changed what the company had to disclose.

1997
Lamia Tazi joins Sothema. Reporting describes her entry into the company as executive assistant to the chief executive. Her degree in pharmacy is from the University of Liège, Belgium.
1998
Appointed responsible pharmacist. The statutory office carrying personal legal accountability for the conformity of everything the establishment releases.
2005
Sothema lists on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. The first North African pharmaceutical company to go public.
Over the period
Promotion to Managing Director. Reporting on her tenure describes turnover multiplying more than sixfold, and the company advancing from 165th to 57th in the ranking of Morocco’s 500 largest enterprises.
Note on sources
One directory profile gives 2005 as her year of joining and describes her pharmacy degree as Moroccan. The weight of reporting — Forbes Middle East, PharmaBoardroom, World Bank Live and Moroccan pharmaceutical press — gives 1997 and the University of Liège, and those are used here.

Era three

2019

The chairmanship, and the six years that followed.

Lamia Tazi in front of the Sothema corporate identity during an interview
  1. 2019 — announced January 2020

    Appointed Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

    The board appoints her to succeed founder Omar Tazi, who takes the chair of a newly created strategic committee tasked with defining and monitoring the group’s strategic orientations. Forbes Middle East and World Bank Live record 2019 as the year she assumed the role; the Moroccan pharmaceutical press reported the handover in January 2020.

  2. 2020–2021

    Pandemic response

    The group reports having maintained all customer orders despite acute global supply pressure. Sothema was involved in securing vaccine supply for Morocco and conducted preliminary clinical work in connection with Sinopharm’s anti-COVID vaccines.

  3. September 2021

    Elected Vice-President General of the FMIIP

    Elected for a three-year mandate to the Moroccan Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry and Innovation, alongside President Mohamed El Bouhmadi. She had previously served as Vice-President of the Moroccan Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (AMIP), and sits on the executive bureau of the Moroccan Association of Exporters (ASMEX).

  4. June 2023

    Galenic development and clinical trials platform

    Sothema partners with Baylor College of Medicine, Dassault Systèmes, ReGenLab and Moroccan government ministries to establish what is announced as the first platform of its kind in Africa and the Middle East.

  5. October 2023

    Scientific office opened in Saudi Arabia

    Extending the group’s technical and regulatory presence in the Gulf.

  6. November 2024

    New storage facility

    Opened at a reported investment of approximately 20 million US dollars.

  7. July 2025

    Agreement to acquire Soludia Maghreb

    An agreement to acquire 99.99% of the capital of Soludia Maghreb, a leading Moroccan industrial player in haemodialysis founded in 1996, at an enterprise value of approximately one billion Moroccan dirhams — close to 111 million US dollars. Following the transaction the group indicated consolidated 2025 revenue of around 3.5 billion dirhams and consolidated EBITDA above 800 million.

Recognition

Listings and regional recognition

Independent rankings compiled by Forbes Middle East, and institutional recognition of her role in the sector.

Lamia Tazi photographed seated in a dark executive chair
Publicly documented recognition
YearRecognitionDetail
2022Forbes Middle East — Top 50 Leaders Transforming HealthcareRegional healthcare leadership ranking
2023Forbes Middle East — Top 100 Healthcare LeadersRegional healthcare leadership ranking
2024Forbes Middle East — 100 Most Powerful BusinesswomenRegional ranking of businesswomen
2025Forbes Middle East — 100 Most Powerful BusinesswomenRanked 33rd
2025Forbes Middle East — Top Healthcare Leaders, Founders & ShareholdersRanked 24th
OngoingVice-President General, FMIIPElected September 2021 for a three-year mandate
OngoingBoard member, CGEMGeneral Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises
OngoingExecutive bureau, ASMEXMoroccan Association of Exporters
Lamia Tazi photographed at an evening event

A note on what is not listed here

Some coverage of Lamia Tazi refers in general terms to “numerous accolades and awards” without naming them. Those references are not reproduced on this page. An unnamed award is not a verifiable one, and listing it would inflate the record without informing the reader.

Similarly, this website makes no claim about her personal wealth. Financial journalism has at times covered movements in the value of her shareholding; those are market events rather than professional achievements, and they belong to a different kind of publication. Where a figure appears anywhere on this site, it is a company figure with its source named.

Insights & perspectives