Simon Willis

Simon Willis leads Heidelberg Materials UK through one of the hardest transitions in heavy industry, and his profile reads clearly as The Pioneer. Cement is among the most carbon-intensive materials on earth, and Willis has positioned the UK business at the front of the decarbonisation pack, most visibly through the Padeswood carbon capture project in North Wales, planned as a first-of-its-kind facility for UK cement. His tenure has also covered the rebrand from Hanson to Heidelberg Materials and the push into lower-carbon product lines, signalling a willingness to reshape identity as well as operations. Pioneers accept technical and commercial risk to open routes others can follow, and Willis has repeatedly bet on unproven-at-scale technology in a conservative sector. The style is pragmatic rather than flashy, but the direction is unmistakably frontier-setting.