People

US: Ash Grove Cement Company has announced that James P Sunderland, former company chairman and president, died on 27 May 2015. Sunderland joined Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company in 1957 as its corporate secretary in Kansas City. In his 43-year career at Ash Grove Cement, Sunderland held several leadership positions, including serving as the company's chairman and president. During Sunderland's tenure, Ash Grove Cement became one of the largest Portland cement producers in the US.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) has confirmed that it is preparing to appoint Roongrote Rangsiyopash as its next president. The SCG board has agreed to maintain Roongrote's position as executive vice-president and end his top position at SCG Paper as well as announce the promotion of two other SCG executives to replace Roongrote, according to the Bangkok Post. Roongrote will end his tenure as president of SCG Paper on 1 July 2015.

"It is a process that we've been planning for several years, and it's clear the company wants Roongrote to replace me, as he is one of the company's more competent resources," said Kan Trakulhoon, SCG's current chief executive and president, who will retire at the end of 2015. "Roongrote is expected to oversee all SCG businesses from now on."

Roongrote joined SCG after graduating from university in 1985. He ran several of the company's businesses before being officially promoted to the latest position of SCG Paper president. He was also a director of Thai-German Industry and PTT Chemical.

Portugal: João Castello Branco will replace Pedro Queiroz Pereira as the CEO of Semapa. In a company statement, Pedro Queiroz Pereira announced that he would propose João Castello Branco to the board of directors in July 2015 for the post as well as for appointment to the post of chairman of the executive committee. Pedro Queiroz Pereira intends to remain as chairman of the board of directors. João Castello Branco works currently as a senior director at McKinsey Iberia.

Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement's Malcolm Brown will retire as the non-executive chairman on 28 May 2015 due to health reasons. He does not intend to stand for re-election in the forthcoming AGM. He has served on the board for more than six years, since December 2008 and is a member of the audit and remuneration committees. Brown remains as a shareholder of Steppe Cement. The company is currently searching for an appropriate candidate to replace Brown.

Europe: Lafarge and Holcim have completed the appointments for the future executive committee of LafargeHolcim following a recommendation by Eric Olsen, future CEO of the combined group. The future executive committee, under the leadership of Eric Olsen, is composed of:

• Finance - Thomas Aebischer, currently in charge of finance at Holcim;
• Integration, organisation and human resources - Jean-Jacques Gauthier, currently in charge of finance at Lafarge;
• Europe - Roland Köhler, currently in charge of Europe at Holcim;
• Asia Pacific - Ian Thackwray, currently in charge of East Asia Pacific and trading at Holcim;
• Middle-East Africa - Saâd Sebbar, currently in charge of Morocco at Lafarge;
• North America - Alain Bourguignon, previously in charge of North America and the UK at Holcim;
• Latin America - Pascal Casanova, currently in charge of France at Lafarge;
• Performance and cost - Urs Bleisch, currently in charge of corporate functions at Holcim;
• Growth and innovation - Gérard Kuperfarb, currently in charge of innovation at Lafarge.

Following appropriate information-consultation processes with relevant works councils and employee representatives, Lafarge and Holcim have now entered a binding agreement with CRH regarding the sale of several assets. The assets include operations mainly in Europe, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines with an enterprise value of Euro6.5bn. The divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger including the acceptance of Holcim's public exchange offer by the shareholders of Lafarge. The merger is expected to close in July 2015.