Gypsum industry news

Saudi Arabia: Mada Gypsum Company has announced the appointment of Sami Helmy as its president. The company noted Helmy’s distinguished track record in the industry and considerable experience in leadership roles. He has served as operations director at the company since 2017, and was previously technology director at The Industrial Group and Banawi Industrial Group. Helmy is a mechanical engineer by training, holding a degree from the University of King Abdulaziz in Jeddah.

Mada Gypsum Company said “Mr Helmy leads Mada Gypsum towards a future defined by innovation, success and Building Excellence.”

France: Saint-Gobain’s chief executive officer (CEO) will also become the company’s chair after the next general shareholders meeting in June 2024. He will succeed Pierre-André de Chalendar in the role, who is preparing to retire. Independent director Jean-Francois Cirelli will also be appointed as vice-chair at the meeting.

The France-based company said that its board of directors have been working since 2021 to enhance the effectiveness of the group's governance and the independence of the board by restructuring the balance of power within it. A Lead Independent Director will also be appointed in June 2024 with additional powers and the proportion of independent directors on the board will be increased, subject to a vote.

Ireland/UK: Belgium-based Etex has appointed Oliver Cripps as its Head of Sustainability, UK and ireland to support its brands, including Siniat. His role will be to push the company’s sustainability agenda, heighten the environmental credentials of its operations and products and decrease reliance on raw materials.

Cripps has worked for 25 years in the sustainability sector in industries including tourism, land management and manufacturing. His previous jobs include Senior Sustainability Manager at Dyson Technology, where he led sustainability for the New Product Innovation and Research teams, and experience working with global furniture manufacturer, MillerKnoll to support research and development and corporate sustainability.

France: Saint-Gobain has appointed Christian Bako as Vice-President Marketing & Development at Saint-Gobain. He joins the company’s executive committee and will report to Anne Hardy, the Chief Innovation Officer. He succeeds Cordula Gudduschat, who has been appointed as the general manager of Isover and Rigips Germany.

Bako studied International Business Administration in Germany and Spain, and started his career at Roto Frank, where he held sales and general management roles in Germany, Spain and France. He joined Saint-Gobain in 2017 as Chief Digital Officer of the glass business in Germany, where he subsequently became general manager of Glassolutions. In 2020, he was appointed general manager of a High Performance Solutions business for Germany & Austria before becoming, in 2021, General Manager for Central Europe.

Italy: Assogesso, the Association of Italian Gypsum Producers, has appointed Gaetano Terrasini as its president. Terrasini is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain Italia. He has held the position of CEO since 2020. Prior to this he has worked for Saint-Gobain and related companies for over 20 years.

US: Georgia-Pacific has appointed Andy Konieczka as Executive Vice President of Building Products. He will report to the company's president and chief executive officer (CEO) Christian Fischer.

Konieczka previously worked as the president of Structural Panels at Georgia Pacific since 2019. He has worked for Koch Industries and subsidiaries, including Georgia-Pacific, since 1992. In 2006, he joined Georgia-Pacific, holding strategy, optimisation and management roles in wood, fibre and building products. Konieczka serves as a member of the board of directors for the APA - The Engineered Wood Association.

US: American Gypsum has appointed Eric M Cribbs as its president. He succeeds Steven L Wentzel at the subsidiary of Eagle Materials who has decided to retire on 1 June 2023.

Cribbs currently works as Eagle Materials’ Executive Vice President of Concrete & Aggregates, Advanced Cementitious Materials, Logistics, and Procurement & Materials. A role he has held since early 2021. Cribbs joined the company in June 2015 and prior to his current position, most recently served as Vice President of Concrete and Aggregates, Safety, Logistics, and Procurement & Materials and Vice President of Concrete and Aggregates. Earlier in his career he worked as the US Northern Region Operations Manager for Halliburton. Cribbs holds an undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Norway: Norgips has appointed Christian Stålem as its managing director. He was previously the commercial director of the subsidiary of Knauf since May 2022. His promotion follows an interim period with Jan Ellringmann, a member of the group management, covering the position. Stålem previously worked as a sales director at BMI Group. Prior to this he held sales, business development and marketing positions at Circle K, Statoil and Capgemini Consulting.

UK: Knauf UK and Ireland has appointed Paul Campbell as its Commercial Director. He will be responsible for the strategic development of supply chains, customer support, marketing and technical functions. Campbell previously worked for British Gypsum for over 10 years in product management and marketing roles before becoming the Marketing & Technical Director, UK & Ireland at BMI Group in 2019.

North America: France-based Saint-Gobain has appointed Steve Williams president of its newly created construction chemicals North Americas unit. The unit combines GCP Applied Technology's speciality construction chemicals business and Chryso. Saint-Gobain acquired both GCP Applied Technology and Chryso in 2021.

Steve Williams previously worked as Chryso's North America president from 2019. Prior to this he was cement producer Titan America's sales and marketing director between 2012 and 2015. Williams holds a bachelor of science degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the University of Florida.