Switzerland: Thomas Schmidheiny has decided not to stand for re-election for the board of LafargeHolcim. In recognition of his years of service to LafargeHolcim and its predecessor company Holcim, the board of directors has decided to name Schmidheiny honorary chairman of the group. He will remain one of the group’s main shareholders. Fellow board member Bertrand Collomb has also decided to stand down.
“For almost 50 years Thomas Schmidheiny has made a significant contribution to the success of Holcim and later LafargeHolcim. He was instrumental in successfully expanding into promising growth markets and has made Holcim one of the leading companies in its industry. On behalf of the board and all employees I would like to thank Thomas Schmidheiny for his exceptional contribution to our company,” said Beat Hess, chairman of the board of LafargeHolcim. He also thanked Collomb for his contribution to Lafarge and then LafargeHolcim.
Schmidheiny began his career at Holcim in 1970. He became a member of the executive committee six years later and served as chief executive officer (CEO) between 1978 and 2001. After joining the board of directors in 1978 he was chairman of the board of directors from 1984 until 2003. Later, he was a key part of the merger between Holcim and Lafarge that completed in 2015.
Collomb joined Lafarge in 1975. After serving in different management positions, including Head of North American operations, he served as chairman and CEO of Lafarge from 1989 to 2003, as chairman until 2007 and then subsequently director until 2012. He was named honorary chairman of Lafarge in 2007 and joined LafargeHolcim’s Board in 2015. Collomb has also decided not to stand for re-election at the upcoming annual general meeting, in order to follow a customary age limit of 75 years.
All other current members of the board of directors will be proposed for re-election at the annual general meeting. This will include: Beat Hess; Oscar Fanjul; Paul Desmarais, Jr; Patrick Kron; Gérard Lamarche; Adrian Loader; Jürg Oleas; Nassef Sawiris; Hanne Birgitte Breinbjerg Sørensen; and Dieter Spälti. Following the election of the nominees the board of directors will drop in size to 10 members compared to 12 at present.
