Features Building Materials & Supplies

Father really seemed to know best. So Soham Naik says about his dad who immigrated to the United States from India in the 1960s and eventually settled in Houston with his wife, where they raised their two sons. Though the elder Naik came from humble beginnings, he wasn’t short on native intelligence. He encouraged both […]

Just like a building needs a solid foundation to weather the years, every company of a certain size needs a legal department to underlie its operations. This is especially true if the company is large and growing, says Sarah Brooks, associate general counsel at CRH Americas. “At CRH, we never stood still, even when much […]

In 2021, Holcim Ecuador did not just celebrate 100 years in business; it also welcomed its first female CEO, Dolores Prado, as well as the first woman to head its shareholders meeting, Caterina Costa. Today, 67 percent of the Ecuadorian branch of the international cement and concrete manufacturer’s leadership team is women—compared with the U.S. […]

It’s a high-stakes year for the American steel industry with continued trade relief at risk. So says Benjamin Blase Caryl, as he rolls out a defensive and offensive game plan as lead trade counsel for United States Steel Corporation. Caryl believes the American steel industry must defend antidumping and countervailing duties—AD/CVD, in international trade parlance—that […]

For Jordan Carpenter, uniformity and order are ways of life—beginning with his daily 5:30 a.m. workout with F3, the peer-led fitness organization on whose leadership team he now sits. Depending on the day, he might do situps or pushups, pullups or burpees. Whatever the routine, his experience as an Army psychological operations specialist in Afghanistan […]

From unexpected sightseeing in Alexandria, Egypt, to spending several years in Argentina when he thought he was going to be there for just a couple of weeks, Luiz Klecz has been around the world with some interesting career turns. The general counsel for InterCement, he’s helped the Brazilian company grow globally for more than 18 […]

The cement industry isn’t always perceived as environmentally benign, but Melissa Díaz Artavia is quick to emphasize the sustainable aspects of her employer’s business model. As she tells Vanguard, the Costa Rican division of Swiss-based building materials and aggregates company, LafargeHolcim, seeks to develop sustainable projects to optimize its production while engaging in a coprocessing […]

At first glance, Warroad, which sits on the shore of Lake of the Woods in the northernmost reaches of Minnesota, appears to be more a haven for hunting, fishing and boating than the site of large-scale manufacturing. The city, population 1,781, is minutes from Canada and miles from anything resembling a metropolis. Yet among the […]

Chris Parisi says it’s important to pay attention to what you’re walking on, or else you may lose your footing—and he’s not just talking about flooring. As the senior vice president, general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer, Parisi is playing multiple roles in the turnaround story of Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Armstrong Flooring Inc. With a […]

Whether arriving in a flash or through years of painstaking thought, inspiration has long illuminated the lighting industry. It’s a trend that continues today, as light emitting diodes (better known as LEDs) deliver better, longer lasting light that requires less energy consumption. As general counsel and chief intellectual property counsel for RAB Lighting, Scott Jacobson […]