Mexico: The board of Cemex may soon decide on a new CEO to replace the late Lorenzo Zambrano, who died of heart failure in Madrid on 12 May 2014. A funeral Mass was held on 14 May 2014.

Directors are likely to hold a meeting in the next few days, according to CFO Fernando Gonzalez. "The board meeting should occur this week," said Gonzalez. "What I can't tell you is the result." A swift decision by directors on a new CEO may reassure investors about the course of Cemex after Zambrano's three-decade tenure. He led the company to the top of the regional industry with US$29bn of acquisitions and became one of Mexico's best-known CEOs, while leaving no publicly anointed successor. Gonzalez, Cemex's CFO, is the odds-on favourite to succeed Zambrano according to analysts.

Gonzalez said that he didn't know whether the board would consider hiring a leader from outside of the company and that major shifts in the business are unlikely. "Cemex's strategy should be maintained," he said. "The strategy is to participate in the global market of the building materials industry." Gonzalez, who isn't a director, said that only the board knows the details of Cemex's succession planning. Even if the board meets this week, there's no guarantee it will make a final decision on new leadership.