People

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement has appointed Qais Hussein Balas as its managing director. Other recent personnel changes at the company include the resignation of the CEO, Abdulkarim bin Mohammed Al-Nuhair, with effect at the end of his contract, on 21 August 2025. In addition, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Falih has been appointed as chair in place of Abdullah bin Oudah Al-Ghubain.

Qais Balas holds over 25 years of management experience. Previous roles include the CEO of the Al-Manaseer cement plant in Jordan, the chief financial officer of GMS Group and as a Senior Internal Auditor at Fastlink. He has also worked as the Director of Investments and Business Development at Hikma Group.

Portugal: Ailana Vilela has been appointed as Chief Supply Chain Officer at Cimpor.

Vilela holds over 25 years of experience in the mining, steel and supply chain sectors. She previously worked in procurement management roles from 2018 to 2025 for mining company Samarco in Brazil. Before this, she held procurement jobs at Brazil-based steel product manufacturers Ternium and USIMINAS from 2013 to 2018. She holds a degree in international business from the Centro Universitário Una in Betim and a master’s of business administration (MBA) qualification from Ibmec.

US: Heidelberg Materials in North America has appointed Bill Fedorka as Senior Vice President, Fly Ash, Southeast Region. He succeeds Jim Clayton, who is retiring.
Fedorka started his career working for Alstom Power in the mid-1990s in engineering roles. He then joined The SEFA Group in 2005 and worked there until 2025. He worked as the Director of Utility Relations until 2011 when he became Vice President of Operations. In 2015, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. The SEFA Group was acquired by Heidelberg Materials in 2023. Fedorka holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State University.

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos España has appointed Rubén Sánchez as the director of its Niebla plant.

Sánchez has worked for Votorantim Cimentos España in a variety of production roles since 2012. He became the director of the Oural plant in 2022. Before this, he held production roles at Cimpor from 2001 to 2012. He holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a master’s in business administration qualification from the European Institute of Business Studies.

Switzerland: Holcim has appointed Vicente Camacho Molero as Head of Operational Technology.

Camacho Molero has worked for Holcim in Switzerland for nearly a decade. He moved to the company at group level in 2014 as Senior Automation Engineer. Before this he held process and project management jobs with Holcim España from 2000 to 2014. He holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Jaén, a master’s degree in industrial automation from the University of Almería and a master’s in business administration qualification from the Open University of Catalonia.