Holcim Celebrates Excellence at the 2026 Annual Awards
For the fourth consecutive year, leaders from across Australia and New Zealand came together in Sydney on 24 February to celebrate the 2026 Holcim Excellence Awards.
An opportunity to recognise the people and teams who made an impact across the business over the last 12 months – this year our awards aligned directly with the Holcim Spirit categories of Purpose, People and Performance, reflecting how we work and what we value across the organisation.
Celebrate the 2026 Holcim Excellence Awards in just one minute—spotlighting the people and teams bringing the Holcim Spirit to life across Purpose, People and Performance.
Purpose
The Purpose category recognised innovation, sustainability and commercial leadership.
Nathan Allen-Jones, Key Account Manager, received the Commercial Excellence Award for delivering strong market growth in Canberra through disciplined account management and customer focus. Congratulated by Scott Buchanan and George Agriogiannis.
Kris Dell, Max Andrews and Jake Ralph from the Western Australia ready-mix concrete team, were recognised for developing and delivering an 80MPa high early-age solution that enabled critical rail infrastructure to reopen within 48 hours, generating strong commercial outcomes. Accepted on their behalf by Sam Russell with George Agriogiannis.
Scott Tunkin, Max Post and Chris Webb from the National Circular Economy and Commercial Team received the Innovation & Sustainability Award for advancing circular economy initiatives across aggregates, increasing reuse of returned concrete and construction and demolition materials, and strengthening commercial systems. Congratulated by Scott Buchanan and George Agriogiannis.
People
The People category highlighted those strengthening our culture, safety and community impact.
Chris Costa, Humes’ National Health and Safety Manager, and Ben Aboushadi, Area Operations Manager, received the Health, Safety & Wellbeing Award for designing and rolling out the Temporary Exclusion Zone Safety Trolley, now implemented nationally across ready-mix concrete operations. Congratulated by Helen Jones and George Agriogiannis.
The Reconciliation Action Plan team received the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award for launching Innovate and embedding meaningful reconciliation actions into our business. Accepted by Sam Russell on behalf of the team.
The Queensland team behind the Bridge to Brisbane Walk - Yew Yang Tan, Joshua Marks, Rowan Salisbury, Arnold Crayford, Baron Law, Kate Stayte and Polly Lowing - were recognised for mobilising 84 participants to raise funds for cancer treatment in support of a colleague. Accepted by Polly Lowing congratulated by Michael Miller and George Agriogiannis.
Nicola Chartrand, National Depots Manager - New Zealand, received the Values Champion Award for lifting operational standards across New Zealand depots while consistently role modelling Holcim’s values. Congratulated by Michael Miller and George Agriogiannis.
Performance
The Performance category recognised strong operational and financial results.
The Queensland Aggregates business, led by General Manager Steve Thomas, received the Financial Impact Award for delivering significant profit growth over two years through disciplined execution and leadership. Accepted by Steve Thomas and Greg Malpass congratulated by Greg Price and George Agriogiannis.
An Operational Excellence Acknowledgement Award was presented to Mohammad Darabi, Regional Operations Manager NSW Concrete, for driving measurable improvements in efficiency, sustainability and site performance. Accepted by Kevin Larcombe congratulated by George Agriogiannis.
An Operational Excellence Acknowledgement Award was also presented to Riley Main, Humes Area Manager, for driving measurable improvements in efficiency, sustainability and site performance. Congratulated by Greg Price and George Agriogiannis.
The VicMix Minimal Control Standards project team, which included Umit Baykur, Darren Ryding, Joe Pietrosanto, Ross Whitelaw, Jing Li, and Florian Grenier received the Operational Excellence Award for successfully implementing Minimal Control Standards with strong audit outcomes and minimal disruption across the VicMix concrete operations. Accepted by Umit Baykur congratulated by Joe Di Mento and George Agriogiannis.
The NSW Major Projects team, under the leadership of Scott Jacobson, received the Customer Value Award for delivering strong results across major infrastructure projects. Congratulated by Paul Casemore and George Agriogiannis.
In New Zealand, the National Supply Chain and Engineering teams were recognised with the Logistics Excellence Award for improving infrastructure efficiency and delivering substantial annual savings. Accepted by Sanil Sabu congratulated by Jessica Blomfield, Michael Miller and George Agriogiannis.
The evening culminated with the One Holcim Award, presented to Mariana O’Bryan, Head of Payroll, for transforming the team into a collaborative, customer-centric and high-performing function, exemplifying the Holcim Spirit in action. Congratulated by Jessica Blomfield, Helen Jones and George Agriogiannis.
While showcasing our strong performance results, the 2026 Excellence Awards reflected the strength of the Holcim Spirit; united by clear Purpose, empowered People and disciplined Performance.
Congratulations to all nominees and winners for bringing the Holcim Spirit to life and setting the benchmark for the year ahead.
