NIGERIA – The Group Managing Director/CEO of Dangote Cement Plc, Eng. Joseph Makoju will retire as GMD/CEO effective January 31, 2020, a position he has held since 2018; according to a report from the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Eng. Makoju, popularly known as Mr. Cement, is bowing out after 45 years of transformational leadership in the cement industry.
Dangote Cement’s Board has in his place approved the appointment of Mr. Michel Puchercos as the Group CEO, effective 1st February 2020.
The outgoing GMD/CEO of Nigeria’s largest cement manufacturer holds a BSc (1st Class) honors degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Nottingham, UK and an M.Phil. in Mechanical Engineering from the same university.
He is also an alumnus of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State.
Before his current position, Makoju was Honorary Adviser to the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, from 2009 to 2018. He was also Chief Operating Officer, Dangote Cement.
He has also worked in several world-class organisations including Shell-BP; Blue Circle (UK), and WAPCO which he headed as Managing Director/CE for about a decade.
He has held the office of Managing Director/CEO of the National Electric Power Authority (now Power Holding Company of Nigeria).
Makoju has also served as Special Adviser (Electric Power) to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria under two separate Administrations.
He was pioneer Chairman of the Board of the West African Power Pool for eight years and remains today an Honorary Member of the board.
He is also the Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN).
Eng. Makoju belongs to several professional bodies including the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institute of Management and British Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
He holds a number of awards including a national honor from the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) and a national honour from the Republic of Niger – Grand Commander of the Special Order of Merit (GCSO).
His successor, Mr. Puchercos, is the immediate former Group Managing Director and Country CEO of Lafarge AFRICA (March 2016 – Jan 2020), a company listed on the Premium Stock Exchange in Lagos.
He has more than twenty years’ experience in the Cement industry having worked extensively at Lafarge, including as the President & Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Halla Cement.
He has also previously served as Director of Strategy and Systems at Lafarge Gypsum. He has also held the office of the Chief Executive Officer at Bamburi Cement, Kenya, Hima Cement, Uganda and Chairman, Mbeya Cement, Tanzania.
