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Egypt: Ayat Zanaty has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Egypt. Zanaty will be the first woman in the position, advancing Lafarge Egypt’s NextGen2030 strategy.

Zanaty has worked for Lafarge Egypt since 2008, most recently as Senior Manager – Financial Planning Analysis. She holds a bachelor’s of business administration degree in Finance and Marketing from The American University in Cairo.

US: James Hardie has appointed Samara Toole as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Toole will lead marketing strategy and execution across the company’s James Hardie, TimberTech and AZEK Exteriors brands. She brings over 20 years’ consumer product industry experience, including as CMO of outdoor living products company The AZEK Company and home furnishings company California Closets and as Senior Vice President Marketing at interior design company Serena & Lily.

Business Wire News has reported that James Hardie CEO Aaron Erter said "Under Sam's leadership, we will continue to elevate our marketing capabilities, deepen customer engagement and successfully expand our market presence across North America."

Toole said "My focus is on showcasing the beauty, performance and sustainability of our products to drive growth across the entire value chain."

Saudi Arabia: Southern Province Cement has appointed Saud bin Safar Al-Bargan as its CEO.

Al-Bargan holds over 25 years of professional experience with 15 years in the cement and building materials sector. He joined Southern Province Cement in 2011. Notable roles he has held at the company include Director of Marketing and Sales, Director of Planning and Business Development, Director of Engineering Services, Director of Supply Chain Management, Executive Vice President of Operations and Operations, and secretary of the board of directors. He is a graduate in applied mechanical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

UK: Holcim UK has appointed Jan-Willem Verkaik as the Project Director for its carbon capture project at its cement plant at Cauldon in Staffordshire.

Verkaik holds over 30 years’ project management experience, having overseen the planning and execution of gas developments in countries including Brunei, Iraq, Norway, Russia and the UAE. Much of his career has been spent working for Shell and related companies. He worked for Brunei Shell Petroleum on offshore projects from 2007 to 2013. He later held positions with Shell and joint-venture Basrah Gas Company. He is a graduate in mechanical engineering from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Canada: Progressive Planet has appointed Doug Brown as president and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at its subsidiary Progressive Planet Alberta. He has been on the advisory board of Progressive Planet since 2020. With this full-time role, he will be responsible for opening and operating the company’s new C-Quester Cement Lab in Calgary. He will also oversee all research and development activities for the Progressive Planet group of companies.

Brown holds a PhD in materials chemistry from the University of Calgary. He started his career as a research scientist at the University of Calgary working on direct air capture (DAC) where he was part of Carbon Engineering Group. Later, he was part of the founding team of ZS2 Technologies, where he led the development of various magnesium-based cement products as its CTO.