Jan. 1, 2022 - The Industrial Minerals Association’s (IMA) European arm has announced the appointment of our Group Chief Industrial Officer, Jean-François Claver, as its new President.

Jean-François Claver becomes the second IMA President from Imerys (Thierry Salmona served from 2008 to 2012). He takes the reins from Catherine Delfaux (from Provençale), who served from 2017 to December 2021. An IMA President’s term is for two years, and can be renewed indefinitely.

Jean-François Claver has long been a leading figure in the industry. Before joining Imerys in 2015, he served as VP of Operations for Siniat and has held leadership roles with Lafarge, Vallourec and Rio Tinto, among others.

Jean-François Claver takes the helm at IMA-Europe at a crucial time for the industry, as the economy strives to recover from the rigors of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ensuing worldwide challenges to international supply chains. In an interview in 2020 he defined his work ethic as, “Being optimistic and pragmatic. We will keep striving for continuous improvement.” 

Commenting on the news, Jean-François Claver said he was: “Honored by the nomination,” adding he is “looking forward to leading the IMA in these exciting times for our Industry.”

IMA-Europe provides a “decisive voice” for industrial minerals producers and importers across the continent. IMA-Europe defines its mission as contributing “to the development of a thriving industrial minerals industry at the heart of a sustainable Europe… tackling issues related to the properties and safe use of minerals, from their extraction through to the entire value chain.”

The heart of IMA-Europe’s mission is to champion “competitiveness, health and safety at the workplace, environmental performance, product safety, and awareness about the importance of industrial minerals for society.”

The organisation’s membership consists of around 500 companies, comprising 42,000 individual members in total, together representing a commercial value worth more than €10bn to the economy in 2020.