The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has announced Fernando Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex as its new President.
Mr. Gonzalez has been GCCA Vice President since 2018 and succeeds the outgoing President, Jan Jenisch, whose term of office now ends after two years.
Fernando Gonzalez is CEO of Mexico-based Cemex and has been with the company since 1998.
Mr. Gonzalez brings a wealth of experience in the cement and concrete industry.
On the operational side, he has led various regions of Cemex, including Europe, Asia and South Central America, and the Caribbean, and has held corporate positions in strategy, planning, business development, and human resources.
He was appointed Executive Vice President of Planning and Development in 2009, Chief Financial Officer in 2011, and has been the company’s Chief Executive Officer since 2014.
Mr. Gonzalez , in his acceptance speech, calls for the industry and governments around the world to establish a “robust regulatory framework” that can further accelerate the cement and concrete sector’s decarbonisation efforts.
He sets out the following priorities for the industry and governments:
* Take decisive action to phase out fossil fuels and promote the use of alternative fuels by encouraging regulation to divert societal waste from landfill to cement kilns.* Enact policies to accelerate the extensive adoption of low-carbon construction products.
* Establish market-driven carbon pricing mechanisms around the world to incentivise industry to decarbonise and further develop technology focused on reducing emissions.
* Collaborate and provide funding to develop new technologies to decarbonise manufacturing processes and help speed up the rollout of carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
Meanwhile, GCCA member companies account for 80% of the global cement industry volume outside of China.
Through the launch of its Roadmap in 2021, cement and concrete became the first global essential industry to commit to delivering on net zero by 2050.