CRH to appoint CFO from within

CRH is expected to promote from within when deciding upon a new finance director later this year.

The Dublin-based international cement and building materials giant yesterday announced that finance chief Maeve Carton is to move to a newly created wider role with the title of group transformation director.

In that role, Ms Carton will be charged with better integrating CRH’s business, identifying operational and financial opportunities and cash-generation opportunities. She took over the finance director position in 2010 and will remain a member of the executive board.

CRH’s chief executive, Albert Manifold, said that Ms Carton’s new role will mark a key role for the future of CRH at a time of change.

“Maeve’s experience and insight into the structures and operations of CRH are invaluable at this time of transformation,” he added.

“The new role demonstrates the ambition for continuing performance improvement within the group,” said Robert Gardiner and Barry Dixon of Davy Stockbrokers in a research note yesterday.

“The announcement of such a new role, in our view, highlights the increased emphasis that is being placed on capital optimisation across the group, which underpins returns getting back to peak levels,” said Robert Eason, head of equity research at Goodbody Stockbrokers.

CRH said that a search will shortly begin to appoint a new finance director, with the process likely to be concluded by the end of the year, after which Ms Carton will take up her new position.

CRH last week received European Commission approval for its planned €6.5bn acquisition of assets being offloaded as part of the mega-merger between European cement heavyweights, Holcim and Lafarge.

Its shareholders have already approved the move.