Former Fletcher Building executive Francisco Irazusta to run Sanjeev Gupta’s InfraBuild

British metals and mining magnate Sanjeev Gupta has rung the changes across the leadership of his global GFG Alliance group.

British metals and mining magnate Sanjeev Gupta has rung the changes across the leadership of his global GFG Alliance group, finally landing a new chief executive for its profitable Australian steel arm and appointing an Australian executive to run its refinancing efforts.

GFG said on Monday it had appointed Francisco Irazusta, the former interim boss of listed New Zealand building products group Fletcher Building, to run Australian steelmaker InfraBuild.

Mr Gupta’s sprawling global empire has also drafted Australian Paul Altschwager to run its ongoing refinancing efforts as the group’s chief capital officer.

It has taken more than a year to find a new boss for InfraBuild, with the search beginning after Boral poached former chief executive Vik Bansal in June 2022 – after Ryan Stokes’ Seven Group holdings won control of the building products major.

While Mr Bansal did not depart straight away, the search for a replacement has lasted more than a year.

Mr Irazusta joins the company from Spanish pipe manufacturer and distributor Tubos Reunidos, which he joined in 2020.

Francisco Irazusta has been appointed CEO and executive director of Sanjeev Gupta's InfraBuild.

GFG said on Monday it has also appointed a new boss for its sustainable energy products division, with Stefan Håkansson joining the group from European energy major E.ON – one of the many European energy groups that has a hydrogen supply deal with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries.

InfraBuild landed a new round of lending facilities through a $US350m asset-backed loan from funds associated with Blackrock and Silver Point Finance in May, with the facility designed to aid an asset reshuffle within the GFG group.

But Mr Altschwager still faces a significant task to help the rest of the group refinance its loans, as the fallout from the collapse of Greensill Capital is still reverberating through its complex structure.

He joins GFG from European fuel service station company EG Group – which also faced massive debt problems resulting from its rapid expansion, and was then hit hard by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Controlled by billionaire UK entrepreneurs Zuber and Mohsin Issa, EG Group recently sold down assets to cover some of its $US9.6bn debt mountain, including a $US1.5bn dollar sale and leaseback deal on its property in the US in March, and in June sold another group of assets to a second Issa-controlled company, the Asda supermarket chain, for £2.3bn ($4.6bn).

In June the company announced the launch of a $US6.1bn refinancing round to extend the remainder of its debts.

Before being promoted to EG Group’s UK head office as its chief financial officer in 2020, Mr Altschwager was the finance boss of the company’s rapid Australian expansion.

He also served as Charter Hall’s finance boss.