Driving Strategic Alignment Through Learning

Organizational Goal

Holcim is a Switzerland‑based, 65 000‑employee leader in building materials and solutions. Its portfolio spans four business lines—cement, aggregates, ready‑mix concrete, and a fast‑growing Solutions & Products segment that includes advanced roofing, insulation, and low‑carbon offerings such as ECOPlanet cement and ECOPact concrete. With its “Accelerating Green Growth” roadmap and a new “NextGen Growth 2030” vision, the company is pushing to become a net‑zero, circular‑construction champion, leveraging technologies like ECOCycle® recycling. 

After the LafargeHolcim merger, the building materials giant set three imperatives for its next generation of leaders: accelerate green growth, reenergize employee engagement, and build a truly global network of peers across 70-plus countries. Mid to senior managers—those with P&L responsibility and a mandate to drive sustainability—needed fresh capabilities to translate strategy into action and rally their teams. Holcim turned to its longstanding partner, Ivey Executive Education, to close this leadership gap.  

Solution 

Drawing on seven years of collaboration, Ivey faculty co-created the Advanced Leaders Program—a virtual journey that blended: 

• Live cases & simulations built from Holcim data (e.g., the Greenerland case on local green growth tradeoffs). 
• Engagement & change frameworks anchored in the company’s own survey results. 
• A DEI module tailored to a male-dominated, multicultural industry. 
• Roleplay workshops with professional actors to practice tough conversations and champion sustainability initiatives. 

The design intentionally mixed reflection, peer consulting, and cross-regional team projects to spark connection.  

Impact 

Just weeks after the first ALP cohort finished, Holcim’s impact survey told a clear story of benefit: 

Holcim leaders like Lena Belsi, CEO of Geocycle Greece, credit ALP with shifting from “solving everyone’s problems” to empowering teams—boosting motivation and results. The program has become a cornerstone of Holcim’s talent pipeline, aligning leadership behaviour with its strategic pivot to sustainable growth. 

To learn more about the longstanding learning partnership between Ivey and Holcim, download the full case and enter your information to get in contact with our team.