CRH, the building materials and services conglomerate, has announced that their current chief financial officer, Jim Mintern, will be succeeding Albert Manifold as the head of the group, following Manifold’s retirement at the end of 2024. Mintern, with over 20 years of experience within the group and 3 years in his current role as CFO, was appointed to the top position after an intensive succession planning process, which involved both internal and external candidate reviews.
The group’s chairman, Richie Boucher, has expressed confidence in Mintern’s capability to lead the group, commenting on his outstanding qualities and influence on CRH’s progression throughout the years. Despite previous rumours hinting at the next group leader potentially hailing from North America, where 75% of the group’s earnings are presently generated, the decision eventually maintained CRH’s tradition of choosing Irish CEOs.
Paying homage to outgoing Nobert Manifold’s remarkable contributions since his association with the group in 1998 and his CEO role since 2014, Boucher mentioned the “enormous progress” made by CRH under his leadership. Both growth and performance of the group saw impressive results, along with constant improvements in profitability, cash generation and returns.
Manifold will resign from the CRH board and his executive duties as of December 31st, but will continue providing his expertise to the group as an advisor for an additional year. Despite a slight drop in revenues to $9.7 billion, the multinational group, which exited the Dublin stock market a year ago and shifted its primary listing from London to New York, reported an 8% increase in post-tax profits, reaching $1.3 billion (€1.18 billion) in the last quarter ending June. Furthermore, indicating future strategic plans, they hinted at having a surplus of more than €20 billion for potential acquisitions in the upcoming years.