The Group Managing Director and CEO of Dangote Cement Plc, Joseph Makoju will retire effective January 31, 2020, a position he has held since 2018, a report from the Nigerian Stock Exchange said. Mr Makoju, popularly called Mr Cement, is bowing out after 45 years of transformational leadership in the cement industry. The Board has however approved the appointment of Mr Michel Puchercos as his replacement as the Group CEO, effective 1st February 2020. The outgoing CEO of Nigeria’s largest cement manufacturer holds a B. Sc (1^st Class) honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from the 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, Mr 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 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 before taking up an appointment as Managing Director/CE of the National Electric Power Authority (now Power Holding Company of Nigeria). He served as Special Adviser (Electric Power) to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria under two separate Administrations. Mr Makoju 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 Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN). Engr. 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 honour 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). Mr Puchercos, who until his latest appointment, was the Group Managing Director and Country CEO of Lafarge AFRICA (March 2016 – Jan 2020), a company listed on Premium Stock Exchange (Lagos). He has more than twenty years’ experience in the Cement industry. He had worked extensively at Lafarge, including as the President and CEO of Lafarge Halla Cement, Director of Strategy and Systems at Lafarge Gypsum through Chief Executive Officer of Bamburi Cement, Kenya, Hima Cement, Uganda and Chairman, Mbeya Cement, Tanzania.