Lorenzo Zambrano

Mexico, cement. Zambrano took over Cemex, his grandfather's regional cement firm in Monterrey, and from 1992 bought producers in Spain, Venezuela, the Philippines, the United States and Britain. Cemex became known for operational discipline, tracking ready-mix trucks by satellite to cut delivery times. The 2007 purchase of Rinker left it heavily indebted when the financial crisis hit, and it spent years selling assets. He died in 2014.