Global Cement News

Greece: Titan has appointed John Ioannou as its Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He will first join Titan as a member of its Group Executive and Management Committees in July 2025. He will later succeed Michael Colakides as Group CFO on 1 November 2025. Colakides will continue in his role as managing director of Titan, chair of the management committee and will remain as a member of the Titan and Titan America boards of directors.

Ioannou is a Cypriot national with 30 years of experience in finance, strategy and management roles in various industries in Europe, the Middle East and the US. Notably, he worked for PepsiCo for 16 years, becoming its CFO in Russia. He also held Group CFO roles at Abdul Latif Jameel and AW Rostamani Group in the UAE.

Ioannou holds an undergraduate degree in marketing and a master’s of business administration (MBA) qualification from Florida State University. He is a qualified chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement has appointed Qais Hussein Balas as its managing director. Other recent personnel changes at the company include the resignation of the CEO, Abdulkarim bin Mohammed Al-Nuhair, with effect at the end of his contract, on 21 August 2025. In addition, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Falih has been appointed as chair in place of Abdullah bin Oudah Al-Ghubain.

Qais Balas holds over 25 years of management experience. Previous roles include the CEO of the Al-Manaseer cement plant in Jordan, the chief financial officer of GMS Group and as a Senior Internal Auditor at Fastlink. He has also worked as the Director of Investments and Business Development at Hikma Group.

Portugal: Ailana Vilela has been appointed as Chief Supply Chain Officer at Cimpor.

Vilela holds over 25 years of experience in the mining, steel and supply chain sectors. She previously worked in procurement management roles from 2018 to 2025 for mining company Samarco in Brazil. Before this, she held procurement jobs at Brazil-based steel product manufacturers Ternium and USIMINAS from 2013 to 2018. She holds a degree in international business from the Centro Universitário Una in Betim and a master’s of business administration (MBA) qualification from Ibmec.

US: Heidelberg Materials in North America has appointed Bill Fedorka as Senior Vice President, Fly Ash, Southeast Region. He succeeds Jim Clayton, who is retiring.
Fedorka started his career working for Alstom Power in the mid-1990s in engineering roles. He then joined The SEFA Group in 2005 and worked there until 2025. He worked as the Director of Utility Relations until 2011 when he became Vice President of Operations. In 2015, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. The SEFA Group was acquired by Heidelberg Materials in 2023. Fedorka holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University.

Mozambique: Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos will invest US$35m in a third cement plant in Ancuabe, Cabo Delgado province, according to local press. The plant is presumed to be a grinding facility due to the value of the investment. Project coordinator Anselmo Amurane said that the plant’s design is under development, with community consultations completed and environmental assessments pending. The start date for construction was not disclosed.

Amurane said “We hope to contribute to increasing the overall cement supply and production capacity,” adding that the project would employ 900 construction workers and 135 operational workers.

Moçambique Dugongo Cimentos is a joint venture between Mozambique-based SPI Gestão and China-based West International Holding. The plant operates two plants in the cities of Maputo and Nacala.