Supply Chain & Logistics Leader
Chidinma Iwueze-Ifeanyi
Head of Logistics · Lafarge Africa · Holcim Group
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Head of Logistics · Lafarge Africa · Holcim Group
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics & Supply Chain Management
I am a supply chain and logistics leader with 16 years of experience building systems that actually work, not systems that look good in a presentation. My career has been defined by one consistent belief: the right answer is almost never the obvious one, and the only way to find it is to get into the detail, understand the real constraints, and then redesign around them.
At Lafarge Africa, I oversee the movement of 2.3 million tonnes of cement to market every year and manage $150 million in logistics spend. Before that, I managed 800 trucks across 13 transporters in the East. Before that, I led the country-wide SAP rollout across four business units. Every role has required me to diagnose what was actually broken, not just what looked broken and then build something better in its place.
I believe supply chains should be built around the customer, driven by data, and operated by people who understand both the numbers and the human realities behind them. I do not accept that inefficiency is inevitable and I know from experience that the biggest gains usually come from fixing the things nobody thought were worth fixing.
Six pieces of work that define how I operate, each one started with a broken system and ended with a measurably better one.
REDUCTION IN PLANT TURNAROUND TIME
Trucks were spending 18 to 20 hours inside the plant. Actual loading took 5 hours. The remaining 13 to 15 hours were lost to paperwork, vehicle checks and confirmations that drivers did after arriving instead of before
Nobody had moved these activities upstream. Drivers, many with low literacy and high technology aversion were completing admin at the gate that should have been done at home base. It was burning thousands of fleet hours every year.
Built the GIGO app alongside a Time Slot Management tool that pre-booked trucks for specific loading times, ensuring vehicle checks, driver readiness tests and delivery confirmations were completed before trucks arrived at the plant. Instead of enforcing compliance through penalties, set up a guided help desk that walked drivers through the app until they could use it independently. Trained Driver Ambassadors within the fleet to coach peers.
Plant turnaround time dropped from 20 hours to under 8 — a 70% reduction. App adoption reached 85 to 90% across 800+ drivers. Thousands of productive fleet hours recovered annually.
Country-wide deployment of SAP and Salesforce across four business units. Systems that previously operated in silos needed to be connected and adopted by 50+ commercial team members simultaneously.
Staff resistance to new systems, data inconsistency across departments, and the risk of significant business disruption during go-live.
Served as sole country functional expert and business process owner. Designed cross-functional integrations across SAP MM, WM and FICO. Built and delivered a structured change management and training programme. Prepared a Business Continuity Plan for go-live.
80% adoption within three months. 90% of user-reported issues resolved within the first month. 9% budget savings delivered. Business continuity maintained throughout.
"I don't manage people. I build conditions where the right people can do the best work of their careers."
Leading a team of 40+ supply chain professionals has taught me that performance is almost never a people problem. It is almost always a clarity problem, unclear expectations, unclear accountability, unclear connection between individual work and organisational outcome.
My approach to leadership starts with making those connections visible. I spend time understanding what each person is actually capable of, what is getting in their way, and what they need to perform at the level the business requires. Then I remove the barriers and raise the standard.
Under pressure and in logistics, pressure is constant, I stay focused on the decision that needs to be made, not the noise around it. I have led operations through supply shocks, system go-lives and major restructures. In every case, the team's confidence came from knowing the leader had a clear picture and a clear plan.
"Chidinma has consistently distinguished herself as an exceptional professional and leader. She thrives under pressure, maintaining an admirable temperament while applying strategic thinking and sound judgment to deliver pragmatic and effective solutions, even in the most complex situations."
See full recommendation ↓"Chidinma is a rare find — a raw diamond. Calm, composed, sharp under pressure. She leads without a title and solves problems through discipline, people intelligence, and a relentless appetite to learn. I would recommend her without hesitation."
See full recommendation ↓"In my capacity as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, I have witnessed firsthand her exceptional leadership, strategic acumen, and unmatched execution. She leads with integrity, remains remarkably calm under pressure, and fosters a culture of continuous improvement."
See full recommendation ↓Available for senior supply chain and logistics leadership roles globally. Open to conversations about transformation, strategy and operations at scale.
chidinma.iwueze.ifeanyi@gmail.com