People

China: Dongwu Cement has appointed Liu Dong as chairman and Wu Junxian as chief executive officer (CEO) following the resignations of Xie Yingxia and Jin Chungen for personal and retirement reasons respectively.

Liu, aged 51 years, has been an executive director of Dongwu Cement since mid-2019. Since leaving university he worked as a diplomat for the Chinese government and the United Nations. From 2005 he has held a number of senior positions at companies including Orient Holdings Group, Huilitong Industry, Sunshine Oilsands, Orient International Resources Group, Global Mining and Sino-Sindh Resources. He holds over ten years’ experience in capital market and investor relationship sectors in Hong Kong and has a Master of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge.

Wu, aged 39 years, is an executive director of Dongwu Cement and the general manager of Suzhou Dongwu Cement. He joined the group in 2009, and has held various positions in Suzhou Dongwu such as assistant to general manager and deputy general manager. He became general manager of Suzhou Dongwu in 2013. Previously, Wu worked for Orient Holdings and Shanghai Keli Communications Technology. He holds a bachelor degree in management administration from Nanjing Audit University.

Czech Republic: LafargeHolcim has appointed Berthold Kren as the manager of its Central Europe region. He succeeds José Antonio Prima Fernandez.

Kren joined LafargeHolcim in 2005, managing alternative fuel projects, and later became a procurement manager in Austria in 2008. He became a sourcing director for fuels in 2010 and managed the company’s energy portfolio for gas, power, solid and liquid fuels in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2016. In 2017 he took over Geocycle's activities in India and Asia. He is a graduate of the University of Leoben in Austria, where he obtained a master's degree in engineering and environmental management.

Oman: Raysut Cement has appointed Jitender Singhvi as its chief financial officer (CFO). He was previously the head of the company’s Internal Audit unit. Singhvi holds over 20 years of experience in audit, assurance and advisory functions.

Spain: Votorantim Cimentos España has appointed Juan Aguilera as the new Industrial Director of Cementos Cosmos. He will supervise the management of the four integrated and two grinding plants the company operates in Spain, according to the Diario de León newspaper. Aguilera has worked for Votorantim and related companies for nearly 20 years spending time managing plants at Córdoba, Niebla and Malaga. He has also worked as the Director of Operations for Votorantim Cimentos in Brazil. Aguilera started his career at the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences and he holds a doctorate in chemical sciences.

Mexico: Elementia has appointed Jaime Rocha Font as its new chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from 2 September 2020. He succeeds Fernando Ruiz Jacques, who will focus on, “new business and development opportunities.” Rocha and Ruiz will work together over the transition process.

Rocha is currently the CEO of Elementia’s Cement Division, including Cementos Fortaleza in Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as Giant Cement Holding in the US. He holds 29 years of experience in the cement industry, and prior to Elementia he held a number of senior positions at Holcim. He has a degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad Católica de Chile and an MBA and postgraduate studies from the IMD in Switzerland, the Free University of Brussels in Belgium and IPADE in Mexico.