Switzerland: Xavier Dedullen has been appointed Head of the newly-created Legal and Compliance function at international cement producer Holcim, as well as Group General Counsel. As Corporate Functional Manager, he became a member of Holcim Senior Management, effective 28 June 2013. He reports directly to the Group CEO. As Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Group General Counsel, Xavier Dedullen assumes responsibility for all legal and compliance matters.

Ireland: Donald A McGovern, Jr will join the board of CRH as a non-executive director effective from 1 July 2013.

McGovern, a US national aged 62 years, is currently Vice Chairman for Global Assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a position he has held since July 2008. McGovern will retire from PwC on 30 June 2013, following a 39 year career with the firm, during which time he directed the US firm's services for a number of large public company clients. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds a Master's Degree in Business.

Chile: Cementos Bío Bío has appointed Iñaki Otegui as its new CEO, effective 1 August 2013. Otegui replaces Jorge Matus, who has resigned after 39 years with the company.

Germany: Minister Eveline Lemke has presented a medal for outstanding commitment to the economy in Rhineland-Palatinate to Irene Scheidweiler, one of the joint founders of Vecoplan. Lemke described Scheidweiler as a model for younger generations.

Scheidweiler founded the recycling technology firm based in Bad Merienberg in 1969, when she was aged 22. In 1995 Vecoplan AG became a subsidiary of MAX Automation AG of Dusseldorf. Today the company employs more than 400 staff at locations in Germany, the US, UK, Austria and Spain.