People

South Africa: Duan Classen, the Operations Executive of Sephaku Cement, has been appointed as its acting chief executive officer (CEO) following the admission of Pieter Fourie to hospital. The cement producer said that Fourie, its current CEO, had been receiving medical care after suffering a stroke and was responding well to treatment.

Classen has been a member of the executive management in charge of operations since the construction of Sephaku Cement’s plants. He holds a bachelor degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Pretoria, and has previously participated in the Young Managers Development Programme at INSEAD in France and a Management Development Programme at Duke University in the US. Classen completed his graduate engineer training at De Beers before joining Blue Circle Cement in 1997, where he was involved in Blue Circle Cement's integration into Lafarge in 1998. He subsequently worked for PPC before being appointed to DCSA in early 2008.

Russia: LafargeHolcim Russia has appointed Andrey Polezhaev as the director of its integrated Schurovsky plant in Kolomna, Kaluga Oblast. He previously worked at the plant, from 2015 to 2017, as head of the repair service and has worked for the group since 1998.

The Schurovsky plant celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2020. Located close to Moscow, it has supplied cement for many well known infrastructure projects in the region including the reconstruction of the Luzhniki Stadium, which hosted the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the construction of runways at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports, the modernisation of the Kaluzhskoe highway and the creation of the Central Ring Road. It is also the only plant in Russia that produces white cement.

US: Solidia Technologies has appointed Bryan Kalbfleisch appointed as its chief executive officer.

Kalbfleisch holds two decades of experience leading manufacturing operations producing concrete, asphalt, and other building materials. He previously worked at Summit Materials, an aggregates-based construction materials company, where he served as president of both its Texas Region and Houston-based Alleyton Resource. He also previously served as president of Fayetteville, APAC Central for Oldcastle (CRH), North America's largest manufacturer of building products and materials. His career was launched in the ready-mix concrete division of Central Pre-Mix Concrete Company, which was sold to Oldcastle in 1997.

China: Gao Dengbang has resigned as the chairman and an executive director of Anhui Conch. The company has proposed appointing Wang Cheng as an executive director subject to shareholder approval at the next annual general meeting.

Wang, aged 55 years, holds a postgraduate degree in economic management from the Central Party School. In March 2021 he joined Conch Holdings. He is currently the party secretary and chairman of Conch Holdings.

He started his career in 1983. Since 2003, he has held key senior positions in a number of provincial cities including deputy mayor and a member of the standing committee of the municipal committee of Huainan city, deputy secretary of the municipal committee and mayor of the municipal government of Bengbu city. Wang is currently a representative of the 13th National People’s Congress.

Turkey: Fatih Yücelik has been elected as the 24th chairman of the board of Türkçimento, the Turkish Cement Manufacturers’ Association. He succeeds Tamer Saka in the role.

Yücelik has worked as a senior executive in the construction sector. He currently works as the vice chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the executive board of Erçimsan Holding. He holds a number of positions with non-governmental organisations, including that of Eastern Anatolian Honorary Consul to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, deputy chairman of the board of directors of Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) and as a board member of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).