Holcim and Lafarge select the future Executive Committee to head the combined company after closing

Another step towards completion of the most advanced construction materials company

By Christel des Royeries

On April 7th 2014, Lafarge (Paris:LG) and Holcim announced their merger project to be finalized during the first half of 2015. Holcim and Lafarge are taking another step towards completion of the most advanced construction materials company in the industry with the announcement of its future Executive Committee.

The future CEO, Bruno Lafont, will head up a project team of 10 experienced and seasoned 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 finalized, 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.

Commenting on the major progress made since the announcement of the merger project, Wolfgang Reitzle, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Holcim and future Chairman of the combined company, and Bruno Lafont, Chairman and CEO of Lafarge and future CEO of the combined company 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. We would like to use this opportunity to thank all our teams for their excellent work to build this new and exciting global company. As of now, the future Executive Committee will play a key role in the integration planning of our two groups.”

The future Executive Committee, as project team under the chairmanship of Bruno Lafont, future CEO, is composed of:

Finance, Thomas Aebischer, currently in charge of Finance at Holcim;
Integration, Organization & 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;
Performance and Cost, Urs Bleisch, currently in charge of Corporate Functions at Holcim;
Growth and Innovation, Gérard Kuperfarb, currently in charge of Innovation at Lafarge;

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

The current Executive Committees of Holcim and Lafarge 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 selection and nomination process for the rest of the leadership team is also well underway.

Apart from the future Executive Committee, the following direct reports of the future CEO have been selected under project mode:

Strategy and M&A, 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 & Compliance at Holcim;
Health and Safety, Sapna Sood, currently in charge of Health and Safety at Lafarge.

Further top managers nominations will be announced in due time.