Tunisia: Jalel Ben Othmane has been appointed Director General of Ciments de Bizerte in replacement of Ibrahim Sanaa who in turn has been appointed Director General of the Carthage Cement.

Brazil: Antonio Ermírio de Moraes, a former chairman of Votorantim, died on 24 August 2014. De Moraes, who served as chairman and CEO of the company, died of heart failure at the age of 86. At the time of his death, De Moraes held a 25% in the group. His family hold the remaining 75% interest.

India: The succession battle within the Chettinad group of companies has culminated in the removal of chairman MAM Ramaswamy from the board of its flagship enterprise, a position he has held for more than three decades.

A resolution to reappoint Ramaswamy was defeated at the 51st shareholders meeting of the Chettinad Cement Corporation on 27 August 2014. However, Ramaswamy was later named as chairman emeritus by his foster son and managing director MAMR Muthiah, who has taken over the reins.

An official statement from the group said, "In acknowledgement of his contribution at the helm of the company's operations until 1999, the managing director announced that Ramaswamy would be appointed as chairman emeritus for life."

Muthiah, who has powered the group's expansion over the last decade in cement, healthcare and logistics, has instilled a managerial culture that is in sharp contrast to the conservative approach favoured by Ramaswamy. Muthiah has announced that the group would push itself into newer geographies in north India. Currently all of the group's cement assets are located in the south.

India: Harish Badami has taken over as CEO and managing director of ACC effective from 13 August 2014. The former CEO and managing director, Kuldip Kaura, left his position on the same date. The board of ACC, in which Holcim has a majority stake, had approved Badami's appointment in June 2014.

Immediately before joining ACC on 1 August 2014, Badami had served as managing director of Celanese India. He has held similar positions of president and managing director of Dow Chemical India, as well as managing director of Rohm and Haas India, before its acquisition in 2009 by Dow Chemical.