Jacques MERCERON-VICAT

About Jacques MERCERON-VICAT

Jacques Merceron-Vicat is a historic figure in Vicat, the French cement group and an international building materials company. A graduate civil engineer from ESTP, born on March 22, 1938, he joined the group in 1962. His career reflects a rare combination of family continuity and industrial leadership within French listed-company governance. He became Chief Executive Officer in 1973, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1984, a role he held until 2008. In that year, he handed executive leadership to Guy Sidos while remaining Chairman of the Board until 2014. Since May 2014, he has served as Honorary Chairman of Vicat. Over several decades of responsibility, Merceron-Vicat helped guide Vicat from a primarily French industrial footprint toward a more diversified and international group. His contribution is associated with long-term industrial discipline, investment in production assets, and steady governance. Publicly available material also notes that he was involved early in major industrial projects, including the construction of the Créchy cement plant, which was inaugurated in 1968. That hands-on operational background gave him a deep understanding of cement, concrete, and aggregates, as well as the practical realities of plant development, capacity expansion, and industrial execution. Beyond management, Jacques Merceron-Vicat represents the strategic memory of the Vicat Group and one of the key continuities in its family shareholding structure. As former CEO, then Chairman, and now Honorary Chairman, he helped shape a governance model balancing managerial autonomy, shareholder stability, and long-term industrial vision. His continued presence at corporate milestones, including initiatives linked to innovation and environmental transition, underlines his lasting influence on the group’s direction, especially in industrial modernization and carbon-footprint reduction.