Ireland: CRH has appointed Mary Rhinehart and Siobhan Talbot as non-executive directors. Rhinehart will join with effect from 1 October 2018 and Talbot will join with effect from 1 December 2018.

Rhinehart, aged 60 years, is chairman, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Johns Manville, a building materials manufacturer. Over nearly 40 years with Johns Manville she has held a wide range of global leadership roles, encompassing responsibility for business management and strategic business development. Prior to being appointed as president and CEO in 2012, she held the role of chief financial officer.

Rhinehart was until recently a non-executive Director of Ply Gem Holdings and is currently a non-executive director of CoBiz Financial. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Colorado and an MBA degree from the University of Denver.

Talbot, aged 54 years, is Group Managing Director of Glanbia, a global nutrition company with operations in 32 countries, a position she has held since 2013. She has been a member of the Glanbia Board since 2009 and was previously finance director, a role which encompassed responsibility for Glanbia’s strategic planning. Prior to joining Glanbia, she worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dublin and Sydney.

Talbot is a director of the Irish Business Employers Confederation. She is a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce and Diploma in Professional Accounting.

France: Fives has appointed Denis Mercier in the newly created role of Deputy General Manager. He will start working for Fives on 15 October 2018. Directly reporting to Frédéric Sanchez, chairman of the executive board, he will join the Group’s Executive Committee.

Mercier’s main duties will be supervising all Fives functional departments involved in group transformation: operational performance, human resources, communication, innovation, strategy and marketing, international development and information technology.

Between 2012 and 2015, Mercier was Chief of Staff of the French Air Force. Since 2015, he has been North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a role that ended in September 2018. Born in 1959, Denis Mercier has received the awards of Grand Officier de la Légion d’honneur and Officier de l’Ordre national du Mérite.

Trinidad & Tobago: Trinidad Cement has appointed Claudia Emmanuel as a director of the company to fill a casual vacancy. Emmanuel will hold the position until the company’s next annual general meeting, whereupon she will be eligible for re-election.

Ghana: Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has appointed Brice Houeto as its new country director for Ghana. He replaces Tor Nygard who has retired after two and half years of managing the business, according to the Daily Graphic newspaper. Houeto holds over a decade of management experience in the cement industry across Africa. Previously, he was the country managing director of Lafarge Cement, Guinea.