China: Xiao Jiaxiang and Sui Yumin have resigned as vice-presidents from CNBM. Xiao Jiaxiang will continue to hold the post of executive director with the company. Both men also worked for subsidiary Xinjiang Tianshan Cement.
Padmaja Parakala appointed as director of research and development at Solidia Technologies
US: Solidia Technologies has appointed Padmaja Parakala as its director of research and development.
She holds 20 years of experience working in corporate material science, most recently working for Innovantage, a professional services firm she founded that has worked with Solidia Technologies and the Boral Innovation Factory. Prior to this she worked as the principal scientist and product performance leader at James Hardie Building Products in Australia. Earlier in her career she also worked for GE at the John F Welch Technology Center.
Parakala holds s PhD in material engineering from the Queensland University of Technology and master’s degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Technology in Varanasi.
Andrés Pérez Algarra appointed as general manager of Cemento Polpaico
Chile: Andrés Pérez Algarra has been appointed as the general manager of Cemento Polpaico. He succeeds Javier Moreno Hueyo who has been in the post for five years, according to the Valor newspaper. Andrés Pérez Algarra, who is currently working as the commercial manager for the company, will take up his new position in April 2022.
Toufic Tabbara appointed as Holcim’s regional head for North America
Switzerland: Holcim has appointed Toufic Tabbara as Region Head North America and a member of the group executive committee. He succeeds René Thibault, who has decided to leave the company.
Tabbara was most recently working as the chief executive officer for US Cement. He joined the group in 1998 as Director Strategy & Development in the US and has led Holcim’s ready-mix concrete, aggregates and cement businesses in the US, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Algeria.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, US and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.


