Holcim streamline Group organization

Company announces new executive committee, area management and corporate functions

AS a further element of the ‘Holcim Leadership Journey’ announced earlier this year, Holcim Group is to implement a leaner and more efficient structure as of 1 September 2012, with a number of regional and functional personnel changes designed to strengthen the development of a new generation of leaders with broad commercial and technical experience.

Among the changes in regional responsibilities, Roland Köhler, member of the Holcim executive committee and currently chief executive officer of Holcim Group Support Ltd, will assume responsibility for the newly structured Group region Europe (excluding the UK). He will be supported by three area managers, who are also members of the senior management of Holcim Ltd:

• Urs Fankhauser, currently area manager for Eastern and south-eastern Europe, will assume responsibility for Western Europe, excluding the UK;
• Kaspar E.A. Wenger, country manager for Switzerland, will assume additional responsibilities for southern Germany and Italy, and has been appointed area manager;
• Horia Adrian, currently chief executive officer of Holcim Russia, has been appointed area manager for Eastern and south-eastern Europe, including the CIS/Caspian region.

Bernard Terver, currently area manager and a member of senior management of Holcim Ltd, as well as chief executive officer of Holcim US and Aggregate Industries US, will assume overall responsibility for the new Group region North America and the UK, and has been appointed as a member of the Holcim executive committee.

Javier de Benito, area manager and a member of senior management of Holcim Ltd, will directly lead Africa Middle East, including the Group’s positions in West Africa and the Arabian Gulf that have until now been run by Holcim Trading. He will also be responsible for South and East Africa and will report directly to the chief executive officer of Holcim Ltd.

Ian Thackwray, a member of the Holcim executive committee, will remain responsible for East Asia, including China, the Philippines and Oceania, but in addition will take on responsibility for Madrid-based Holcim Trading SA.

The area responsibilities of executive committee members Paul Hugentobler, in charge of South Asia and ASEAN, excluding the Philippines, and Andreas Leu, in charge of Latin America, will be unchanged.

Urs Böhlen, a member of the Holcim executive committee and currently responsible for Eastern and south-eastern Europe and the CIS/Caspian region, is to step down from this leadership function and act as an advisor to the chief executive officer of Holcim Ltd until his retirement in 2013.

Two other members of the Holcim executive committee, Benoît-H. Koch and Patrick Dolberg, responsible for North America, the UK, Norway, the Mediterranean (including the Iberian Peninsula) as well as International Trade, and Western and Central Europe, respectively, are to leave the Group.

Meanwhile, changes to functional responsibilities will see the corporate functions that directly contribute to the programme for strengthening customer excellence and cost leadership combined under the leadership of Urs Bleisch. He has been appointed as corporate functional manager and a member of senior management of Holcim Ltd, and will head the newly created project management office for the ‘Holcim Leadership Journey’.

Ramit Budhraja, currently chief executive officer of the South West Division of Indian Group company ACC Ltd, will lead the customer excellence initiative at Group level with effect from 1 October 2012. Reporting to Urs Bleisch, he will also retain his current position until a successor is appointed.

Finally, procurement and IT, as well as the newly created mergers and acquisitions function of Holcim Group Support Ltd, will report directly to executive committee member and chief financial officer Thomas Aebischer.