Brazil: Otmar Hubscher has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Secil. He replaces Gonçalo Salazar Leite, according to the Negócios newspaper. Hubscher, a Swiss national, was previously the head of LafargeHolcim's Brazilian operations.

Jamaica: Peter Donkersloot Ponce has been appointed as the general manager of Caribbean Cement Company with effect from 7 November 2016. He replaces Alejandro Varés Leal who was originally appointed in May 2015 subject to an agreement between Caribbean Cement’s owner Trinidad Cement and Cemex. However, Varés Leal has taken up a promotion with Cemex. In accordance with the Agreement, Ponce was proposed by Cemex to replace Varés Leal.

Germany: Jens Michael Wegmann is standing down as CEO of Thyssenkrupp’s Industrial Solutions division with immediate effect and leaving the company. Wegmann accepted a golden bracelet for his wife from a Pakistani business partner, according to Reuters.

“I made a mistake which I greatly regret and I am now paying the consequences. I realise that my conduct in my dealings with a sales partner was not in line with Thyssenkrupp’s values and that I can no longer credibly drive the necessary changes at Industrial solutions. For this reason I am standing down as CEO of Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions – irrespective of legal issues and the findings of the on-going internal investigation. I would like to wish all employees the very best for the future and every success in the continuing implementation of the transformation,” said Wegmann in a statement.

Stefan Gesing, chief financial officer of Industrial Solutions, will assume Jens Michael Wegmann’s duties and serve as chair of the business area board on an acting basis. The group will decide on a permanent successor in a structured process.

South Africa: PPC has appointed Peter Nelson as its permanent board chairman following his interim tenure in the role following the retirement of Bheki Sibiya. The appointment took affect from 24 October 2016. Other recent appointments include the proposal to elect Nicky Goldin as the third member of the audit committee following the retirement of Bridgette Modise and the appointment of Timothy Leaf-Wright as chairman of the risk and compliance committee with immediate effect

Nelson was appointed to the board as an independent non-executive director on 25 January 2015. His experience covers manufacturing, mining, telecommunications, healthcare, leisure, property, packaging and the motor industry in listed and private entities in South Africa, the UK, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. He has served as chief financial officer on several boards including Telkom, Netcare, Mondi and he was the financial director of PPC from 2000 to 2003.

Goldin was appointed to the board as an independent non-executive director in January 2015 and currently serves on the Remuneration and
Investment sub-committees of the board. She holds a B.Com (Hons) from the University of the Witwatersrand and obtained an MBA from the University of Illinois. She has held senior positions at Deloitte Consulting, BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Standard Bank and ANZ Bank (Australia).

Leaf-Wright is a chartered secretary and was appointed to the board as an independent non-executive director in January 2015. He currently serves as a member of the risk and compliance, social, ethics and transformation and investment committees. His career with Nampak Limited spanned 41 years prior to early retirement in 2014. During the last 11 years, he was seconded to Mozambique, Nigeria and Angola to spearhead negotiations and subsequently construction and managing of both brown and greenfield plants in those countries.