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Jon K Tabor to retire from Allied Mineral Products
Written by Global Cement staff
29 January 2020
US: Jon K Tabor, the Chairman Emeritus of Allied Mineral Products, is to retire at the end of March 2020. He celebrates 50 years with Allied on 16 February 2020. He will remain on Allied’s board of directors following his retirement.
Tabor started a 65-year career in the refractories industry in 1955 when he started working for Norton Company (Saint-Gobain), in Worcester, Massachusetts. He joined Allied as Sales Manager in 1970, when Allied was a small company. Tabor helped transform Allied from a two-man partnership into a multi-national corporation with almost 1000 employees in 25 countries, and manufacturing facilities in eight countries and four US states. His Allied career has included the roles of Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, President, chief executive officer (CEO), Chairman, and most recently, Chairman Emeritus. Notably, he led the transformation of Allied to an employee owned (ESOP) company in 1986.
Tabor attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, served in the US Army and Army Reserves; graduated from Alfred University in 1955 and earned an MBA from Northeastern University in 1962.
New Executive Vice President and General Counsel for RHI Magnesita
Written by Global Cement staff
22 January 2020
Austria: RHI Magnesita, the leading global supplier of refractory products and solutions, is adding a new member to its Executive Management Team. Ticiana Kobel, 49, will join RHI Magnesita as Executive Vice President and General Counsel.
“We are really happy to have Ticiana Kobel on board,” said Stefan Borgas, CEO of RHI Magnesita. “With her more than 20 years of experience in different positions providing legal insight on a global scale, leading legal departments and making strategic decisions in legal and governance matters at multinational companies, she perfectly fits the needs of our global company and will be an asset in the future development of our success.”
Kobel, who completed a law degree with an emphasis in corporate law and an LLM in international economic law and European law in Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland, has gained valuable management skills in a wide range of global business branches, leading legal departments in the manufacturing industry, the aviation industry, the technology industry, the service sector and the engineering industry. She has been in charge of crucial projects pertaining to all legal matters, such as spin-offs, entity sales, potential acquisition targets and corporate governance issues, and assisted with the design and implementation of compliance functions, mergers and acquisitions and partnerships.
Serge Gbotta appointed managing director of LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast
Written by Global Cement staff
15 January 2020
Ivory Coast: LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast has appointed Serge Gbotta as its new managing director. He succeeds Xavier Saint-Martin-Tillet, who has become the head of the West Africa region of the group. Gbotta was previously the Commercial and Logistics Director at LafargeHolcim Ivory Coast since 2015. Prior to this he has worked at Maersk, Air Liquide, DHL and ADM. Gbotta trained as a civil engineer at the ENSTP Yamoussoukro in Abijan. He also holds an MBA from the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS).
Chu Yufeng appointed as chief financial officer of West China Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
15 January 2020
China: West China Cement has appointed Chu Yufeng as its chief financial officer (CFO). He suceeds Chan King Sau, who has been appointed as a financial controller of the company and will continue to be the company secretary.
Chu Yufeng, aged 41 years, joined Yaobai Special Cement Group (Shaanxi Yaobai), a subsidiary of the West China Cement, as deputy chief financial officer in 2012. He was the deputy administration, finance and control director of Fuping Cement, another subsidiary of West China Cement, from 2010 to 2012. In 2014, Chu was appointed as the chief financial officer of Shannxi Yaobai and he has been responsible for financial management and audit matters of Shaanxi Yaobai and its subsidiaries for over five years. Prior to joining the group, Chu was a finance manager in a software company and an electric equipment manufacturer, both in China.
Chu holds a master’s degree in business administration from an international business program jointly organised by Maastricht School of Management (MSM) of Netherlands and Independent University of Bangladesh in 2005. He also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce in international accounting from Xi’an JiaoTong University in 1999. He is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Carol Jackson begins presidency of World Refractory Association
Written by Global Cement staff
15 January 2020
Belgium: Carol Jackson, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of HarbisonWalker International (HWI), has started a two-year term as president of the World Refractory Association (WRA). She suceeded Stefan Borgas, the CEO RHI Magnesita, who led the organisation since January 2018.
Jackson, aged 47 years, became CEO of HWI in 2017 following three years as its Senior Vice President and General Manager. She has spent over 20 years of her career in the paint, coatings, chemicals, glass, ceramic materials, and specialty steel industries, serving automotive, industrial, consumer, and construction markets. Before joining HWI in 2014, she served as Vice President of the bar, wire, and strip business units of Carpenter Technology Corporation. She also held various roles at PPG Industries, where she rose to became Director of Global Raw Materials Purchasing.
Jackson is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania, US and she holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business. She earned her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University.