The Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA), the apex body of India’s large cement manufacturers, unanimously elected Neeraj Akhoury, Managing Director of Shree Cement, as the President of CMA and Parth Jindal, Managing Director of JSW Cement as the Vice President of CMA at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on July 14, 2023. Akhoury takes over from KC Jhanwar, Managing Director of UltraTech Cement Limited. Members unanimously endorsed the election of President and Vice President of CMA expressing full confidence in the newly elected leadership team.

Akhoury brings with him over 30 years of rich experience in the steel and cement industries. He has worked in various leadership roles in India and other emerging markets.

Speaking on the occasion Akhoury said, “I express my sincere thanks to all the CMA Members for reposing their confidence in me. I assure my firm commitment to continuing to build a substantive agenda of dialogue with the Government of India. As a future direction, the Indian Cement Industry would like to reiterate its commitment to being India’s partner in nation-building for creating business value chains, supporting infrastructure growth and a sustainability agenda, with an emphasis on decarbonisation, aligned to India’s priorities and working in close collaboration with policy planners, ministries, and stakeholders”.

Akhoury further added, “I would like to express my deep appreciation of the Government of India for constantly engaging with our Industry during the critical time of COVID and taking forward productive dialogue with the Cement Industry through CMA. While the Indian Cement Industry is robust, CMA reaffirms its commitment to the nation and will make all efforts to further improve the image and reputation of the Indian Cement industry.”

Jindal is the Managing Director of JSW Cement At CMA, Parth Jindal is the youngest elected Vice President in the Association’s almost 60-year history and is expected to bring in new energy and perspective to address key challenges of the Indian cement industry. He will also infuse new ideas to support the decarbonisation agenda and digital transformation of the Indian cement sector.

Commenting on his appointment as the new Vice President of CMA, Jindal said, “I thank the CMA Members for electing me as the Vice President of CMA. India’s cement sector plays a critical role in the growth and economic development of our nation. I reiterate CMA’s commitment to working closely with the Indian Government in being a significant partner in pursuing the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. This places a great responsibility on all of us to collectively follow various strategies to reduce carbon emissions across our business operations. I look forward to working with Neeraj in furthering CMA’s decarbonisation agenda as we continue to build a pipeline of strategically relevant solutions in this direction. I have full confidence in the Indian Cement Industry’s practices associated with the circular economy, WHRS, alternative fuels, etc. Moreover, as India takes a generational leap in becoming a digitally connected economy, it becomes important for us to adapt to the new digital way of doing business and connecting with all our stakeholders.”