LafargeHolcim announces changes to the Executive Committee

Words: Margaret FosterLafargeHolcim announces changes to the Executive Committee reflecting the evolution of the portfolio following recent divestments and a transition to the next phase for the Company as it closes the integration phase.
  • Pascal Casanova, currently responsible for the Latin America Region, will take responsibility for North America including Mexico
  • Roland Köhler, currently responsible for the Europe Region will add Australia, New Zealand and Trading to his responsibilities.
  • Martin Kriegner, currently responsible for India, will join the Executive Committee and take additional responsibility for South East Asia.
  • Oliver Osswald, currently responsible for our operations in Argentina, will join the Executive Committee with responsibility for Central and South America.
As a result of these changes, the company also announces that Alain Bourguignon and Ian Thackwray have decided to pursue new opportunities outside the Group.

As of August 5, 2016, the Executive Committee, chaired by Eric Olsen, will be composed of the following members:
  • Urs Bleisch, Group Head of Performance & Cost
  • Pascal Casanova, Region Head North America including Mexico1
  • Roland Köhler, Region Head Europe & Australia / New Zealand & Trading1
  • Martin Kriegner, Region Head India & South East Asia2
  • Gérard Kuperfarb, Group Head of Growth & Innovation
  • Caroline Luscombe, Group Head of Organization and Human Resources
  • Oliver Osswald, Region Head Central & South America2
  • Saâd Sebbar, Region Head Middle East & Africa
  • Ron Wirahadiraksa, Chief Financial Officer
“I would like to thank Alain and Ian for their contribution towards building our new culture and footprint and putting our synergies well on track. I wish them every success in their future endeavors.

“I am happy to welcome Martin and Oliver as new members of the Executive Committee. Together with Pascal and Roland they bring valuable extensive experience in retail, commercial transformation and performance management. They will be key assets for the new team,” said Eric Olsen, Chief Executive Officer.

Eric Olsen

French and American national born in 1964, Eric Olsen is the CEO of LafargeHolcim Ltd since July 10, 2015. He is a graduate in finance and accounting of the University of Colorado and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree awarded by the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC). Eric Olsen joined Lafarge North America Inc. in 1999 as Senior Vice-President Strategy and Development. In 2001, he was appointed President of the Cement Division for the Northeast Region of North America and Senior Vice-President Purchasing for Lafarge North America Inc. He was appointed Chief Finance Officer of Lafarge North America Inc. in 2004. He was appointed Group Executive Vice President for Organization and Human Resources and became a member of the Executive Committee in 2007. As of September 1, 2013, he was appointed Executive Vice-President Operations. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of Cimpress N.V. (The Netherlands).

Urs Bleisch

Swiss national born in 1960, Urs Bleisch has been a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd (then “Holcim Ltd”) since September 30, 2014 and is responsible for Performance & Cost. He holds a Master’s in Business and Economics from the University of Basel. Urs Bleisch joined Holcim in 1994 as Head IT of Holcim Switzerland. From 2000 onward, he assumed Group-wide responsibility for Information Technology and was instrumental in the development and implementation of the global IT strategy of the Holcim Group. Since 2011, he has managed the Information and Knowledge Management function at Holcim Group Support Ltd. As of September 1, 2012 he was appointed CEO of Holcim Group Services Ltd and of Holcim Technology Ltd. He led the global functions Customer Excellence (Marketing & Commercial), Aggregates & Construction Materials, Logistics, Cement Manufacturing, CAPEX Projects, Sustainable Development, Alternative Fuels and Resources, Innovation (including Knowledge Management), and the Program Management Office (PMO) for the Holcim Leadership Journey.

Pascal Casanova

French national born in 1968, Pascal Casanova has been a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd since July 10, 2015 and will be responsible from August 5, 2016 for North America including Mexico. He is a graduate of the École Polythechnique in civil engineering and holds a PhD in Materials and Structures from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. Pascal Casanova was hired in 1999 as Technical Director for Lafarge and was subsequently appointed Head of R&D and Industrial Performance of the Roofing activity based in the UK. In 2005, he directed the international activity of Roofing Components headquartered in Oberursel, Germany, ensuring the development of production and international sales, particularly in Malaysia, USA, South Africa, Brazil, and Western/Eastern Europe. In 2008, he was appointed Head of R&D of the Lafarge Group. In 2012 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge France. Since July 10, 2015, Pascal was responsible for Latin America.

Roland Köhler

Swiss national born in 1953, Roland Köhler has been a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd (then “Holcim Ltd”) since March 15, 2010 and is responsible for Europe. From August 5, he will also be responsible for Australia/New Zealand and Trading. He is a graduate in business administration from the University of Zurich. Roland Köhler joined the building materials group Hunziker, Switzerland, in 1988 as Head of Finance and Administration and transferred to Holcim Group Support Ltd as a Management Consultant in 1994. From 1995 to 1998, he was Head of Corporate Controlling and, from 1999 to end 2001, Head of Business Risk Management. Since 2002, he led Corporate Strategy & Risk Management. Effective January 1, 2005, Roland Köhler was promoted to Corporate Functional Manager responsible for Corporate Strategy & Risk Management. On March 15, 2010, he was appointed Member of the Executive Committee and CEO of Holcim Group Support Ltd. Since September 1, 2012 Roland Köhler has been responsible for the Group region Europe.

Martin Kriegner

Austrian national born in 1961, Martin Kriegner joins the Executive Committee from August 5 and will be responsible for India and South East Asia. He is a graduate from Vienna University with a Doctorate in Law and he obtained an MBA at the University of Economics in Vienna. Martin Kriegner joined Lafarge in 1990 and became the CEO of Lafarge Perlmooser AG, Austria in 1998. He moved to India as CEO of the Lafarge Cement operations in 2002 and later served as Regional President Cement for Asia, based in Kuala Lumpur. In 2012, he was appointed CEO of Lafarge India for the Cement, RMX and Aggregates. In July 2015 he became Area Manager Central Europe for LafargeHolcim operations and was appointed Head of India effective March 1, 2016.

Gérard Kuperfarb

French national born in 1961, Gérard Kuperfarb has been a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd since July 10, 2015 and is responsible for Growth & Innovation. He graduated from the École des mines de Nancy (France). He also holds a Master’s degree in Materials Science from the École des mines de Paris and an MBA from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC). Gérard Kuperfarb began his career in 1983 as an Engineer at the Centre de Mise en Forme des Matériaux (CEMEF) of the École des mines de Paris, before joining the Composite Materials Division at Ciba group in 1986, where he held sales and marketing positions. In 1989, he joined a strategy consulting firm in Brussels and Paris. He joined Lafarge in 1992 as Marketing Director for the Refractories business and then became Vice-President for Strategy at Lafarge Specialty Materials. In 1996, he became Vice-President of Ready-Mix Concrete Strategy in Paris. In 1998, he was appointed Vice-President/General Manager for the Aggregates & Concrete Business in southwest Ontario (Canada) before heading the Performance group at Lafarge Construction Materials in North America in 2001. He joined the Aggregates & Concrete Division in Paris as Senior Vice-President of Performance in 2002. From 2005 to August 2007, he was President of the Aggregates & Concrete Business for eastern Canada. On September 1, 2007, he became Executive Vice-President, Co-President of the Aggregates & Concrete Business, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Lafarge Group and since January 1, 2012 executive Vice-President Innovation of Lafarge.

Caroline Luscombe

A British national born in 1960, Caroline Luscombe became a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd in July 2016 and is responsible for Organization & Human Resources. She holds a Bachelors degree in German from the University College, London. Caroline Luscombe joined LafargeHolcim from Syngenta where she was Head of Human Resources since January 2010 and a member of the Executive Committ ee. Prior to joining Syngenta, Caroline held senior HR roles in the financial and healthcare businesses of the GE Group, and in the speciality chemical company, Laporte plc.

Oliver Osswald

Swiss and German national born in 1971, Oliver Osswald joins the Executive Committee as from August 5 and will be responsible for Central and South America. He graduated from the Hochschule in Ulm. Oliver joined Holcim Apasco in Mexico in 1995. He has been responsible for a number of plants in Switzerland and in Germany between 1999 to 2005. From 2005 to 2010, he held management and marketing positions in Holcim Switzerland including running the Aggregates and Ready Mix businesses. He was appointed Commercial Director for Holcim Apasco in Mexico in 2012, with responsibility for Commercial and Ready Mix, before being appointed Country Head for Argentina in 2014.

Saâd Sebbar

Moroccan and French national born in 1965, Saâd Sebbar has been a Member of the Executive Committee of LafargeHolcim Ltd since July 10, 2015 and is responsible for Middle East Africa. He is an aeronautics engineer and graduated from the ESSEC Business School in Paris. Before joining Lafarge, Saâd Sebbar worked as an Investment Advisor and then as a Management and Organization Consultant. He joined Lafarge in 1997 as a Plant Manager and subsequently held several other positions in operations. In 2002, he was appointed Managing Director of Lafarge-Titan Egypt. From 2004 to 2008, he held the position of Managing Director of Herakles General Company in Greece, and then became East Asia Regional President with responsibility for South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. In 2012, he was appointed country Chief Executive Officer for Lafarge Morocco.

Ron Wirahadiraksa

Dutch national born in 1960, Ron Wirahadiraksa has been CFO of LafargeHolcim Ltd since December 1, 2015. He graduated with a Doctoral in Business Economics from the Free University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He also graduated as a Certified Registered Controller from the Free University of Amsterdam. Ron Wirahadiraksa joined the Philips group in 1987. He became Chief Financial Officer at LG. Philips LCD in South Korea in 1999, during which time he shared operating leadership with the Korean CEO. He also led the 2004 initial public offering of LG. Philips LCD on the Korean and New York Stock Exchanges and supported the significant growth and market leadership of the company. He became Chief Financial Officer at Philips Healthcare in 2008 and in 2011 he took over as CFO for the Philips Group.

1 Change in position for existing Executive Committee member
2 New member of the Executive Committee
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