US: The American Cement Association (ACA) has appointed Leah Pilconis as Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel.

Pilconis holds over 20 years of professional experience in legal advocacy, compliance and federal policy. She worked as General Counsel for the Associated General Contractors of America from 2023 to 2026. She previously held positions at this association from 2000 onwards, notably as Senior Legal Advisor. She holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Gettysburg College and was later awarded a Doctor of Law in energy, environment and natural resources law from Penn State Dickinson Law.

India: UltraTech Cement has appointed Jayant Dua as its managing director. He will start the role in April 2026. He succeeds KC Jhanwar in the role.

Dua joined the cement business of Aditya Birla Group in 1996 and has held a variety of management positions. He was the Joint Executive President of the cement division of Grasim India from 1996 to 2005. He later became the Group Executive President of UltraTech Cement in 2014 and 2015. He also held CEO positions for group companies, including Aditya Birla Insulators, Century Textiles and Chlor Alkali amongst others. He became the business head for the group’s renewables and textiles divisions in 2023.

Dua holds an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, a master’s of business administration qualification (MBA) from the International Management Institute and has completed the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School.

Sweden: SaltX has appointed Karl Björnfot as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and has confirmed Kristine Johansen as its permanent Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Björnfot holds over 15 years of experience in the energy, chemicals and process industries and has held senior technical roles in large-scale industrial development and startup projects. He has worked on major energy projects at Shell in the Middle East and Europe, contributed to the development of Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå, and built the engineering organisation and process safety functions at Stegra. Most recently, he served as CTO at the chemical company Sekab.

Johansen has been confirmed as permanent COO after working as acting COO since October 2025.

Sweden-based SaltX develops and markets sustainable technologies for the electrification of emission-intensive industries such as the lime and cement sectors.

Türkiye: Öner Akgerman the former chair of Çimentaş has died. He also held the position of the chair of Türkçimento in the 1980s.

Akgerman started working for Çimentaş in 1968 and later became the company’s general manager in 1976. In 1984 he became its deputy chair. During his time at Çimentaş he set up ready-mixed concrete, construction, insurance and tourism subsidiaries. Following the acquisition of Çimentaş by Italy-based Cementir in 2001, he founded AKG Group and created divisions specialising in autoclaved aerated concrete and insulation.