Bamburi chief set to leave

Bamburi Cement managing director Michel Puchercos is leaving the company.

Mr Puchercos, whose departure was revealed during a board meeting held on Wednesday this week, will relinquish his position on New Year’s Day.

“At a board meeting, it was announced that Michel Puchercos will be moving elsewhere in the Lafarge Group and, therefore, will cease to be the managing director with effect from January 1, 2009,” a letter to the CEO of Nairobi Stock Exchange said.

The letter, dated November 27 and is signed by company secretary B. Kanyagia, said his replacement will be communicated in due course.

The successor to the outgoing MD has his work cut out.

This is because, while Mr Puchercos’ helm enjoyed a boom in the construction industry, which is petering out, his successor will have to contend with falling demand.

Mr Puchercos era featured a bitter turf war with Athi River Mining where Bamburi owns 14 per cent over control of limestone fields of Kitui.

Earlier, he featured prominently in a drama over whether Lafarge should maintain shareholding in East African Portland.

Later it emerged that a proposal for amalgamating the whole industry had been made.

The CEO, a French Catalan, is likely to be remembered for among others, his dogmatic implementation of road safety programme for the company’s vehicles and those of suppliers.

Only this week, he introduced a Global Positioning System fleet tracking and reporting system set to cost the giant cement maker Sh100 million.

Bamburi, the largest cement manufacturing company in East Africa, is also one of the largest road users in the region.

The introduction of the GPS system comes hot on the heels of Bamburi road safety programme named Cementing the way to Road Safety campaign launched in 2006.

He became MD of Bamburi in September 2005.