Daughter of Moroccan-born worker now leads 6,000 Kiabi employees
In Metz, some of the employees she now leads have as many as thirty years of experience. Ouarda Ech-Chykry is learning to work with unions and make difficult decisions. She has found a very personal way to speak to her teams.
In 2009, Ouarda Ech-Chykry, then a student at NEOMA Business School, had two options: a work-study placement at Printemps in Paris or at Kiabi near Reims. As a scholarship student, she ruled out the capital. Renting an apartment in Paris would mean an extra expense she preferred to avoid.
She therefore joined Kiabi in Cormontreuil, on the outskirts of Reims. At 20, she supervised two sales assistants in the accessories and underwear department. The following year, she oversaw four employees at a store in Châlons-en-Champagne, in a department generating one million euros in revenue.
The daughter of a worker from Morocco and a stay-at-home mother, Ouarda grew up in a modest family. Her parents taught her to observe the environments she entered and to move forward without seeking attention.
At 22, she moved to Villepinte, near Paris, to manage twenty employees. She then ran the Soissons store, followed by stores in Alsace and, eventually, those across the entire eastern region. Each change of position brought greater responsibility.
In November 2022, at 35, she became managing director of Kiabi France. She thus took responsibility for a business with 6,000 employees, according to a profile published by EcommerceMag in October 2025.
Her career took a legal turn in 2026: she was appointed managing director of Kiabi Europe by a decision dated May 11. The appointment was announced in July and entered in the commercial register in October.
Her father’s reaction, born in Morocco
Among the many messages she received after being appointed head of Kiabi France, her father’s particularly resonated with her. In a testimony to Les Échos Start, republished in November 2023 by LesDirigeantes, he reminded her that he was born in a Moroccan village. His daughter now leads a major French company.
This family history continues to shape the way she works. Speaking to NEOMA students at a meeting recounted in February 2026, she advocated a management approach based on listening, autonomy and knowledge of the front line.
She experienced this firsthand in Metz, where she had to take charge of a struggling store. Some employees had more than thirty years’ experience. To find the right way to speak to them, particularly in her exchanges with union representatives, she asked herself a question: how would she have wanted someone to speak to her own father?
