People

India: Dalmia Bharat Group director Jai Hari Dalmia died on 8 July 2021 at the age of 76.

Dalmia’s father Jaidayal Dalmia founded the company in 1939 before Dalmia and his brother Yadu Hari Dalmia later took charge of the business in the 1980s, according to Forbes. Together they built the cement division up from one cement plant to 13 cement plants in 2020.

Dalmia held a Bachelor of Engineeringdegree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University and a Master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne. He had more than 47 years of experience across various industries including refractories, sugar and cement. Dalmia was involved in research and development and had personally received several patents for the company's businesses.

Zimbabwe: Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has appointed John Stull as a non-executive director. Previously he worked as the chief executive officer of Holcim Philippines from 2018 until 2021. He is currently the Area Manager - East, South Africa & Indian Ocean for Holcim.

Stull, an American national, holds over 29 years’ experience with Holcim Group having joined it in 1992 as the operations manager at the Alpena plant in Michigan, US. Since then he has worked in a variety of executive roles around the world. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron and an Advanced Management Degree from Harvard University.

Germany: Beumer Group has appointed Jörn Fontius as the managing director of its Germany-based subsidiary Beumer Maschinenfabrik. He succeeded Norbert Stemich in the role in May 2021. Stemich has now moved to the Product Business division of the group.

Fontius joined Beumer Maschinenfabrik in 2013 and managed corporate strategy before becoming the head of global supply chain management. In late 2019 he became the president of the airport division of Beumer’s US subsidiary. Prior to working for Beumner, Fontiuswas a member of the management board of the Bundesvereinigung Logistik, a logistics network.

Burkina Faso: The Burkina Faso Cement Association has elected Abdelali Temsamani as its president. Temsamani has been the director general of Ciments d'Afrique (CIMAF) Burkina Faso since 2018. The association also elected Abdoul Rahim Kanazoe, the director general of CIMFASO, as its secretary general, according to Burkina 24. The association was formed in 2016 to support the local cement sector.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has appointed Dave Nepereny as an honorary member. The role is awarded to those who, in the opinion of the PCA board of directors, have rendered outstanding service to the cement industry and the association. Nepereny was a former chief executive officer at Buzzi Unicem and as a member of the PCA board of directors, he served as a former chairman from 1994 - 1995. He also served as a board member to former PCA sister organisation, CTLGroup.

“Dave was actively involved with multiple aspects of PCA, setting an example as a former Chairman and chair for multiple committees, including the Membership Development, Market Development Council, and the Administrative council,” said PCA chairman and president of GCC of America, Ron Henley.