From PPC Ltd:Â
JOHANNESBURG, June 26, 2019 – Following a global search, the Board of Directors of PPC Ltd, South Africa’s largest cement maker, announced the appointment of Roland van Wijnen as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The search for a new CEO to succeed Johan Claassen began last November when he announced he was taking early retirement from his position of CEO of PPC.
“Considering the specialised nature of the industry, and its challenges, as soon as Johan decided to retire, the board began a process to identify a high calibre candidate, with extensive experience in leading cement companies in cyclical downturns and challenging markets,” said PPC Chairperson, Jabu Moleketi.
“We are pleased to have secured Roland, a Dutch national, whose listed company experience and exposure to international global best practice will broaden the management practices of PPC. He is an ideal appointment as he has detailed knowledge of the cement sector. He is up-to-speed with our global strategic imperatives and will advance the process without any delays,” he said.
Van Wijnen Experience
“He has been with Holcim, now LafargeHolcim, for 17 years during which time he held various senior leadership roles across the group. As CEO of the Philippine business, a public company, much the same size as PPC, he successfully dealt with similar challenges that PPC is facing. During his time Holcim Philippines successfully implemented a new retail business model and a growth strategy to best serve customers and increase profitability.
“An Industrial Engineering graduate from Twente University, in the Netherlands, van Wijnen was CEO of certain of Holcim’s Eastern European businesses between 2005 and 2010 and also acted as CEO of Holcim’s global trading business before the Lafarge Holcim merger,” said Moleketi.
“Having done some work for Holcim in South Africa before the company moved its operations out of the region, he is familiar with the country,” he said.
#PPC has appointed ex LafargeHolcim boss and Dutch national, Roland van Wijnen as CEO. He becomes the cement makers fourth CEO in the past five years @cnbcafrica
— Fifi Peters (@FifiPeters) June 26, 2019
Moleketi said van Wijnen has signed a four-year contract and was expected to take over from Claassen as soon as he has received a work permit. He will be tasked with building and developing the executive team and jointly accelerating the process of turning PPC into a high-performance organization that offers superior products and solutions to customers throughout its leading positions across Africa.
Van Wijnen said: “I am excited and honoured to have been appointed into this executive role at such iconic company that PPC is. PPC is currently undergoing strategic projects to ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of the Group, and I have been working on such initiatives for the past decade. I am looking forward to starting my new role as CEO which will enable me to focus on the value and growth strategy of the Group. Our future will be defined by how well we deliver on our strategy of driving sustainable growth and maximising opportunities in order to realise the ambitions of our company and take us to the next level of success.”
Succession Planning
Moleketi said the PPC board recognises that the foundation for succession planning is effective governance, based on defined core values and application principles that guide both governing and operating decisions and actions.
“To this end, the board has conducted a detailed evaluation of the executive bench, individual and collective skills of the leadership body and developed succession plans to align the leadership with the strategic needs of the firm going forward,” he said.
“During the next four years, the Board will work with Roland to fast-track and implement the company’s succession policy and strategy.
“We thank Johan for his commitment, hard work, and loyalty to PPC, its shareholders, employees and customers. He has accomplished what he was set up to do – to renew the operational focus of the company and position the group for a period of consolidation,” said Moleketi.
