ICR interviews José Maria Magrina, CEO of Heidelberg Materials Trading, the world’s largest trader of cement and clinker. He discusses the company’s global operations, the growing trade in low-carbon materials, and the latest trends in the shipping sector.
ICR: Your background is from the manufacturing side, rather than trade, with a long time spent in Egypt, before you took the position of CEO of Heidelberg Materials Trading.
José Maria Magrina (JMM): Yes, my core background was originally as a producer. In Egypt, my previous work location, I managed the construction of and went on to direct Arabian Cement Co (ACC) and its 5Mta capacity. Later on I became its CEO. At ACC, I experienced a company in nearly all of its development stages: from greenfield project via the initial commercialisation of its products to expansion and finally, a successful IPO. In 2016 I joined Heidelberg Materials as managing director of its subsidiary Suez Cement. It was a conglomerate of companies with many subsidiaries, both within the country as well as in other parts of the Middle East. My main mandate was to increase efficiency and make it sustainable. In April 2022 I was asked to move to Heidelberg Materials Trading , now almost two years ago.
