Lafarge/Holcim team named

The latest step in the merger of Lafarge and Holcim has been taken with the announcement of its future executive committee.

The planned merger was given approval by the European Commission earlier this month.

The future CEO, Bruno Lafont, will head up a project team of 10 managers who will lead the transition – with all the teams already engaged in the integration planning – until the completion of the merger. Once the merger is finalised, the members of this project team will be officially appointed members of the executive committee of the proposed combined company by the future board, which will be chaired by Wolfgang Reitzle.

Until then, the role of the project team will be limited to integration planning which will be implemented after closing.

Reitzle, chairman of Holcim, and Lafont, chairman and CEO of Lafarge, said, “We are fully on track, and after a rigorous process, we have now identified the team that will lead the combined company into the future. As of now, the future executive committee will play a key role in the integration planning of our two groups”.

The future executive committee 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, Eric Olsen, currently in charge of operations at Lafarge; North America, Alain Bourguignon, previously in charge of North America and UK at Holcim; Latin America, Saâd Sebbar, currently in charge of Morocco at Lafarge; performance and cost, Urs Bleisch, currently in charge of corporate functions at Holcim; and growth and innovation, Gérard Kuperfarb, currently in charge of innovation at Lafarge.

In India, both companies are said to be well on track in preparing the merger of Holcim and Lafarge, with the future structure for the subcontinent to be announced after clearance by the Competition Commission of India.

The current executive committees of Holcim and Lafarge will remain in charge and accountable for the activity and operations of their respective groups until completion of the merger. Both groups continue to operate entirely separately as competitors until the merger is completed.

The companies said the selection and nomination process for the rest of the leadership team is also well underway.

Apart from the future executive committee, a number of direct reports to the future CEO have been selected. They include strategy and mergers and acquisitions, Christof Haessig, currently in charge of corporate finance and treasury at Holcim; communication, public affairs and sustainable development, Alexandra Rocca, currently in charge of communication, public affairs and sustainable development at Lafarge; legal, Xavier Dedullen, currently in charge of legal and compliance at Holcim; and health and safety, Sapna Sood, currently in charge of health and safety at Lafarge.