People

Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast has appointed Serge Gbotta as its new managing director. He succeeds Xavier Saint-Martin-Tillet, who has become the head of the West Africa region of the group. Gbotta was previously the Commercial and Logistics Director at LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast since 2015. Prior to this he has worked at Maersk, Air Liquide, DHL and ADM. Gbotta trained as a civil engineer at the ENSTP Yamoussoukro in Abijan. He also holds an MBA from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).

China: West China Cement has appointed Chu Yufeng as its chief financial officer (CFO). He suceeds Chan King Sau, who has been appointed as a financial controller of the company and will continue to be the company secretary.

Chu Yufeng, aged 41 years, joined Yaobai Special Cement Group (Shaanxi Yaobai), a subsidiary of the West China Cement, as deputy chief financial officer in 2012. He was the deputy administration, finance and control director of Fuping Cement, another subsidiary of West China Cement, from 2010 to 2012. In 2014, Chu was appointed as the chief financial officer of Shannxi Yaobai and he has been responsible for financial management and audit matters of Shaanxi Yaobai and its subsidiaries for over five years. Prior to joining the group, Chu was a finance manager in a software company and an electric equipment manufacturer, both in China.

Chu holds a master’s degree in business administration from an international business program jointly organised by Maastricht School of Management (MSM) of Netherlands and Independent University of Bangladesh in 2005. He also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce in international accounting from Xi’an JiaoTong University in 1999. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Belgium: Carol Jackson, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of HarbisonWalker International (HWI), has started a two-year term as president of the World Refractory Association (WRA). She suceeded Stefan Borgas, the CEO RHI Magnesita, who led the organisation since January 2018.

Jackson, aged 47 years, became CEO of HWI in 2017 following three years as its Senior Vice President and General Manager. She has spent over 20 years of her career in the paint, coatings, chemicals, glass, ceramic materials, and specialty steel industries, serving automotive, industrial, consumer, and construction markets. Before joining HWI in 2014, she served as Vice President of the bar, wire, and strip business units of Carpenter Technology Corporation. She also held various roles at PPG Industries, where she rose to became Director of Global Raw Materials Purchasing.

Jackson is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania, US and she holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business. She earned her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has appointed Michel Puchercos as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and group managing director. He succeeds Joseph Makoju, who will retire at the end of January 2020.

Puchercos holds over 20 years of experience in the cement industry, having served in various roles at Lafarge including president and CEO of Lafarge Halla Cement, Director of Strategy and Systems at Lafarge Gypsum and CEO of Bamburi Cement in Kenya, Hima Cement in Uganda and chairman at Mbeya Cement in Tanzania. His last appointment was as the Group Managing Director and Country CEO of Lafarge Africa.

Canada: McInnis Cement has appointed Baudouin Nizet as its president and chief executive officer (CEO) with immediate effect. He succeeds Jean Moreau, who worked as the interim president and CEO since mid-2018.

Nizet career in the cement industry, includes working at CRH Canada / Holcim Canada as Senior Vice President for Quebec and the Atlantic Region from 2006 to 2013 in Montreal, then in Toronto as president and CEO from 2013 to 2017. Until recently, he was Senior Vice President at Stuart Olson Building Group, a construction company based in Calgary. In addition to serving as a director of the Cement Association of Canada for several years, he also served until 2017 as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canada Green Building Council, responsible for LEED certifications in eco-responsible constructions.

McInnis Cement has also appointed Alex Wojciechowski as its chief operating officer. Wojciechowski holds over 30 years of experience as a manager in the cement industry in Canada and in the US. He has held various positions ranging from Maintenance Manager to Plant Manager to Industrial Manager. His expertise covers both cement operations and constructing and commissioning industrial equipment investment projects.