HeidelbergCement announces Managing Board successions

Dr Lorenz Näger is to remain Chief Financial Officer until May 2022, at which time he will become Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board. Jon Morrish will take on responsibility for Western and Southern Europe from Dr Dominik von Achten in 2020.

Chris Ward is to be promoted to the Managing Board and will take on responsibility for North America from Jon Morrish. Ernest Jelito will also be promoted to the board, and will take on responsibility for Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia from Dr Albert Scheuer, who will leave the board in August 2019.

On the conclusion of his third term as chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement AG, at the end of January 2020 Dr Scheifele will give the position to Dr von Achten. This decision was made by the supervisory board at its meeting on 19 February 2019 and the appointment of von Achten was extended until the end of January 2025.

The supervisory board has also asked Dr Scheifele to stand as a candidate for Chairman of the supervisory board after the end of a statutory cooling-off period in 2022. After careful consideration, Dr Scheifele announced that he will comply with this request.

The company has also made further decisions concerning the composition of the managing board. From 1 February 2020, the board has extended the contract of Chief Financial Officer to Dr Näger until the end of May 2022, appointing him as new Deputy Chairman of the managing board. Dr von Achten will hand over responsibility for the Western and Eastern Group area to Jon Morrish, who has so far been in charge of North America. Currently head of the Canada region, Chris Ward will be promoted to the managing board and will take on responsibility for the North America Group area.

Starting in August 2019, Ernest Jelito is currently heading HeidelbergCement’s activities in Poland and will succeed Dr Scheuer as a member of the managing board in charge of the Northern and Eastern Europe-Central Asia Group area. Dr Scheuer will leave the managing board after the end of his third term.

“The changes in 2020 are part of the long-term succession planning for the supervisory and managing boards of HeidelbergCement,” said Fritz-Jürgen Heckmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HeidelbergCement. “Since assuming office in 2005, Dr Bernd Scheifele has decisively shaped the Group and has successfully moved it into new dimensions both operationally and strategically. By introducing effective management processes and a lean organisation, he significantly increased the competitiveness of HeidelbergCement, propelling us to the forefront of the industry. He has also overseen the expansion of our geographic footprint and the scope of our core activities, and made HeidelbergCement the leading vertically integrated building materials company globally. The supervisory board would like to thank Dr Scheifele for his longstanding commitment. We have asked him to consider joining the supervisory board as chairman so that he can continue to contribute his skills and experience for the benefit of the company. We are very glad that Dr Scheifele has agreed to our request and will stand as a candidate for the supervisory board in 2022.”

“In the person of Dr Dominik von Achten, we have named a very competent and experienced successor as Chairman of the managing board from within our own ranks,” said Dr Bernd Scheifele. “He has played a decisive role in the very successful integrations of Hanson and Italcementi and has proven his competencies in managing the group areas North America and Western and Southern Europe. With Ernest Jelito and Chris Ward, two further managers of our Group with many years’ experience in the business lines and international markets of HeidelbergCement, will be joining as new members of the managing board. Finally, we would like to thank Dr Scheuer for the dedication shown during his nearly 12 year term on the managing board. Through his unmatched competence in the cement business, he has contributed significantly to the operational excellence of HeidelbergCement.”

Dr Dominik von Achten has been Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board since 2015, and a member of the managing board since 2007, with responsibility for the North America Group area and other topics. He is currently in charge of the Western and Southern Europe Group area and the Competence Center Materials. As Chief Digital Officer, he also oversees digital transformation and digital ventures.

Dr Lorenz Näger has been the company’s Chief Financial Officer since 2004. In addition, he is the head of finance, accounting, controlling, tax, treasury, insurances and risk management, IT, and the shared service centre.

Ernest Jelito joined HeidelbergCement in 1982, holding various technical and management positions before he took over as Director Global HTC in 2009. His achievements include effective rollouts of the continuous improvement and operational excellence programmes in the cement business line. Since 2015, he has worked as General Manager Poland.

Chris Ward has been with the Group since 1996, holding various management positions in Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas before taking on responsibility for the aggregates business in the Southeast region of the US. He is currently responsible for the Canada region in the North America Group area.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/20022019/heidelbergcement-announces-managing-board-successions/