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Morocco: LafargeHolcim has appointed George Michos as its new head of its Moroccan subsidiary. He succeeds Marcel Cobus, who moves to the LafargeHolcim executive committee in charge of the Europe region, according to Morocco World News. Previously Michos worked as the managing director of LafargeHolcim’s Heracles General Cement subsidiary in Greece.

Australia: Adelaide Brighton has announced the appointment of Vanessa Guthrie and Geoff Tarrant to the Adelaide Brighton Board as non-executive Directors, effective 8 February 2018. Company Chairman Les Hosking said that the appointments of Dr Guthrie and Mr Tarrant were part of Adelaide Brighton's Board renewal process.

Dr Guthrie has qualifications in geology, environment, law and business management, including a Doctor of Philosophy in Geology. She has more than 30 years' experience in the mining and resources industry across a variety of roles including operations, environment, community, indigenous affairs, corporate development and sustainability. She was previously CEO and Managing Director of Toro Energy Limited and Vice President Sustainable Development at Woodside Energy. Dr Guthrie is currently Chair of the Minerals Council of Australia and a non-executive Director of Santos Limited, Vimy Resources Limited and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr Tarrant has a Bachelor of Business and is a finance executive with over 25 years' experience gained in Australia, the UK and Asia. He is currently engaged in a corporate finance consultancy role with Deutsche Bank, where he has held a number of senior roles since 2002, primarily in mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. Prior to this he held finance roles with Citigroup, National Australia Bank and Price Waterhouse.

Kenya: Bamburi Cement has announced the appointment of Seddiq Hassani as the new managing director of the company. Hassani will replace Eric Kironde who has been acting Managing Director and Finance Director for the past four months. Hassani joins Bamburi Cement from LafargeHolcim’s Middle East and Africa Region where he was the Head of Growth and Innovation since September 2015, based in Paris, France.

“We are confident that with his strong and wide experience in operational and functional positions, more specifically, in leading transformation and managing growth strategies at both country and international level, he will support the continued growth of the business to achieve its mid- and long-term strategic goals,” said the company board in a statement.

The board also announced the appointment of Nicolas George as a Board Director of Bamburi Cement Limited and Managing Director of Hima Cement Ltd, Uganda.

The cement maker plans to increase its production capacity from 2.3Mt/yr to 3.3Mt/yr in order to meet market demand in 2018, the first phase of its capacity expansion projects in both Kenya and Uganda. The US$38.5m expansion began in January 2017 with a new mill at its Athi River plant.

India: IDBI Bank has decided to withdraw the nomination of S K Mohapatra from the board of debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates. In a BSE filing, crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates informed that Subrat Kumar Mohapatra, the chief general manager of IDBI Bank, has resigned from the board. IDBI Bank has decided to withdraw the nomination of Subrat Kumar Mohapatra from the board of directors of the company with immediate effect, the filing said. Mohapatra thus ceased to be director of the company with effect from 13 February 2018.

Jaiprakash Associates, the flagship firm of the Jaypee Group, has interests in cement, construction, hospitality, power and real estate businesses. The company has divested a number of its assets, including cement plants, to reduce debt.

India: Shri Sajjan Bhajanka has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Star Cement. He is a Commerce Graduate from Dibrugarh University, Assam. He has business and industrial experience of more than 25 years in the fields of plywood, ferro silicon and granite. He is the Managing Director of Century Plyboards (I) Limited, the largest producer of plywood, laminates and block-boards in India. Mr. Bhajanka is also the Chairman of Shyam Century Ferrous Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of Ferro Silicon in India. He is also the President of the Federation of Indian Plywood and Panel Industry and All India Veneer Manufacturers Association.