Holcim UK has named Adham El Sharkawy as chief executive officer, in an announcement reported on 7 September 2026. He took up the position on 1 September 2026.
El Sharkawy is an internal appointment. He has spent 18 years with Holcim Group, most recently as chief executive of the group business in Algeria, and brings more than two decades of international leadership experience across the building materials and construction industry. He has led businesses, teams and transformation programmes across the Middle East, Africa and other growth markets.
The pattern is a familiar one in building materials, where operating knowledge of an integrated cement, aggregates and concrete business is difficult to acquire from outside, and where group companies tend to move proven country chief executives between markets rather than recruit externally. What is less usual is the direction of travel. El Sharkawy arrives in a mature Western European market from a growth market, rather than the other way round.
Grant Earnshaw, region head for Western Europe at Holcim, said: "I would like to congratulate Adham on his appointment. He is an excellent leader to take the UK business forward, with vast experience in our business and our industry." He added that having got to know him and seen his successes with the group, he was confident that "his commercial and people focused approach will continue to drive the UK business forward as the leading partner in sustainable construction".
El Sharkawy said: "It is a privilege to take on this role in one of the most competitive and exciting markets. It is clear that we have the potential to leverage our past experience and successes, alongside adopting new approaches and transformative ideas to further unlock growth opportunities in the UK." He said he was looking forward to working alongside colleagues across the UK and globally to deliver the next chapter in the group NextGen Growth strategy.
The transition is orderly. Danny King, who had been acting as interim chief executive, continues with the UK business as managing director for aggregates, asphalt and contracting, keeping the operating leadership of three of its largest lines intact through the handover.
The UK market matters to the group as a test bed for lower carbon construction products, where regulatory pressure and public procurement standards move faster than in most growth markets. The appointment of an executive whose record was built in Algeria and the wider Middle East and Africa region suggests the group is betting that commercial discipline and transformation experience travel better than local market familiarity.
For the UK business, the immediate question is continuity of customer relationships through a leadership change that has now run through an interim period into a permanent appointment.
