Lafarge Africa appoints Lolu Alade-Akinyemi as New CEO

Lafarge Africa has appointed Lolu Alade-Akinyemi as the new chief executive officer of the firm.

This decision came after the directors’ board held an emergency meeting at which it agreed to CEO Khaled El-Dokani’s decision to exit the firm.

Mr. El-Dokani’s service ends at the end of June, capping three years of stewardship, which has its defining moment as leading the cement maker to double annual profit in 2020 amid Covid-19 lockdowns.

Profits at the local unit of Paris-based world’s largest cement manufacturer LafargeHolcim jumped to N30.8 billion from N15.5 billion a year earlier that year.

Lafarge Africa did not disclose Mr. El-Dokani’s reason for quitting, but the company said he would get a non-executive director’s role as soon as his appointment ceases.

“He successfully entrenched and upheld a strong ethical culture, gender diversity and sustainability principles, which are part of Holcim Group’s core values,” the company said in a note to the Nigerian Exchange recently.

Mr. Alade-Akinyemi, who once served as a finance officer at the FMCG giant PZ Cussons Nigeria, replaces El-Dokani on 1 July.

He has been part of Lafarge Africa’s top hierarchy since April 2020, initially as an executive director, later jointly holding that designation alongside the chief financial officer position.

His forte spans sales, supply chain management as well as business development.

“Lolu is a seasoned business executive with multifaceted international experience and accomplishments in turnaround situations, transforming processes to improve business performance, fostering growth in challenging business environments, and Profit & Loss oversight,” said Lafarge Africa.

Geographically varied, Mr. Alade-Akinyemi’s experience, especially at Coca-Cola, has seen him work across markets like Belgium, Ghana, the UK and Nigeria.

His career launched at ExxonMobil after qualifying with a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Essex.