Kenya: Bamburi Cement has announced the appointment of Seddiq Hassani as the new managing director of the company. Hassani will replace Eric Kironde who has been acting Managing Director and Finance Director for the past four months. Hassani joins Bamburi Cement from LafargeHolcim’s Middle East and Africa Region where he was the Head of Growth and Innovation since September 2015, based in Paris, France.

“We are confident that with his strong and wide experience in operational and functional positions, more specifically, in leading transformation and managing growth strategies at both country and international level, he will support the continued growth of the business to achieve its mid- and long-term strategic goals,” said the company board in a statement.

The board also announced the appointment of Nicolas George as a Board Director of Bamburi Cement Limited and Managing Director of Hima Cement Ltd, Uganda.

The cement maker plans to increase its production capacity from 2.3Mt/yr to 3.3Mt/yr in order to meet market demand in 2018, the first phase of its capacity expansion projects in both Kenya and Uganda. The US$38.5m expansion began in January 2017 with a new mill at its Athi River plant.

India: Shri Sajjan Bhajanka has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Star Cement. He is a Commerce Graduate from Dibrugarh University, Assam. He has business and industrial experience of more than 25 years in the fields of plywood, ferro silicon and granite. He is the Managing Director of Century Plyboards (I) Limited, the largest producer of plywood, laminates and block-boards in India. Mr. Bhajanka is also the Chairman of Shyam Century Ferrous Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of Ferro Silicon in India. He is also the President of the Federation of Indian Plywood and Panel Industry and All India Veneer Manufacturers Association.

India: IDBI Bank has decided to withdraw the nomination of S K Mohapatra from the board of debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates. In a BSE filing, crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates informed that Subrat Kumar Mohapatra, the chief general manager of IDBI Bank, has resigned from the board. IDBI Bank has decided to withdraw the nomination of Subrat Kumar Mohapatra from the board of directors of the company with immediate effect, the filing said. Mohapatra thus ceased to be director of the company with effect from 13 February 2018.

Jaiprakash Associates, the flagship firm of the Jaypee Group, has interests in cement, construction, hospitality, power and real estate businesses. The company has divested a number of its assets, including cement plants, to reduce debt.

Austria: Christoph Stotter has been appointed as the head of Development & Quality Assurance at w+p Zement. He succeeds Walter Steinwender, who had been working at the Wietersdorf plant since 2008. Stotter studied at the Montanuniversität in Leoben and has since gained experience in process engineering, research and development and product management.