LafargeHolcim nominates new Chairman of the Board of Directors
LafargeHolcim announces that Mr. Wolfgang Reitzle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, has informed the Board that he will not stand for re-election at the Company’s May 2016 Annual General Meeting. The Board regrets this decision while acknowledging Mr. Reitzle’s wish to pursue other business activities that will require his fullest attention, in particular the Chairmanship of the Linde Supervisory Board.
Mr. Reitzle was instrumental to the successful merger between Lafarge and Holcim in 2015. “Wolfgang Reitzle’s contribution to bringing the two groups together, and to creating the new leader in the building materials industry, has been invaluable” said Mr. Paul Desmarais, Chairman of the LafargeHolcim Nomination and Compensation Committee. Mr. Reitzle commented: “I am satisfied that LafargeHolcim is now fully on track with realizing the benefits of the combined businesses. With its committed people and leading position in markets around the globe, LafargeHolcim is well placed to reach its targets”.
The LafargeHolcim Board of Directors has decided to propose to its shareholders the election of Mr. Beat Hess as its new Chairman. A Swiss national born in 1949, Mr. Hess is currently Vice-Chairman of the Board, a Member of the Strategy & Sustainable Development Committee and a Member of the Finance & Audit Committee. He was elected to the Board of Directors of then Holcim Ltd in 2010. From 1977 to 2003, he was legal counsel and later General Counsel of the ABB Group. From 2004 until the end of 2010, he was Legal Director and a member of the Executive Committee of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, London and The Hague. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Nestlé S.A. and of Sonova Holding AG.
Further proposals to the LafargeHolcim Annual General Meeting will be announced together with the invitation to the meeting.
About LafargeHolcim
With a well-balanced presence in 90 countries and a focus on cement, aggregates and concrete, LafargeHolcim (SIX Swiss Exchange, Euronext Paris: LHN) is the world leader in the building materials industry. The Group has 115,000 employees around the world and combined net sales of CHF 32 billion (EUR 26 billion) in 2014. LafargeHolcim is the industry benchmark in R&D and serves from the individual homebuilder to the largest and most complex project with the widest range of value-adding products, innovative services and comprehensive building solutions. With a commitment to drive sustainable solutions for better building and infrastructure and to contribute to a higher quality of life, the Group is best positioned to meet the challenges of increasing urbanization.