In April 2026, we were proud to welcome Yuliya Kravtsov as CarbonCure's new Chief Executive Officer. Yuliya brings 20+ years of experience driving transformational growth across multiple industries, including more than 15 years in building materials. She joins CarbonCure from CRH, and she has previously held senior leadership roles at Holcim, Lafarge, Discover Financial and Boston Consulting Group.
We recently sat down with Yuliya to learn more about her background, what drew her to CarbonCure, and her vision for the road ahead.
What's your superpower?
I’d say that my superpower is the ability to break through language barriers. Not that I can speak every language on the planet! [laughs] Though I do speak several languages. What I mean is that I'm able to walk into any room, whether it's a ready mix plant in Texas, a concrete conference in Brazil, a climate event in London or a board room in Singapore, and instantly connect with what matters most to the people there.
Over the past two decades I have worked across public accounting, strategy consulting, financial services and building materials. Through all of it, the ability to listen and connect with the people in front of you has always been what’s moved things forward.
Joining CarbonCure as CEO, that is exactly the approach I am bringing. Whether I am talking to a producer focused on trimming cement costs or a sustainability executive thinking about their net zero strategy, my job is to make sure we are delivering value that actually moves the needle and meets or exceeds their needs.
What drew you to the building materials industry?
Honestly, it started as a favour. A friend of mine was leaving the industry and encouraged me to take a look at an opportunity with Lafarge. I had no idea at the time that it would shape the next 15 years of my career and life.
What I found when I got there was an industry that is deeply connected to the world around us. Concrete is in everything, the roads we drive on, the buildings we work in, the homes in which we raise our families. And the people in this industry take that responsibility seriously. They are builders in every sense of the word, and I found that incredibly compelling.
Over time, I also came to appreciate just how much this industry demands. Producers are running complex operations on tight margins, and every decision has to make business sense. But I also came to see the enormous opportunity for manufacturers to lead on sustainability. When I discovered that those two things could work together, rather than against each other, that is when my perspective shifted entirely. That realization turned my curiosity into a genuine passion.
What also attracted me to the industry is people and their dedication. Many companies within the building materials industry were built by families over multiple generations. They are community-oriented, hard-working people.
Why did you join CarbonCure?
After 15 years working for some of the largest global building materials companies in the world, I had watched CarbonCure from the outside for a long time. I was consistently impressed by the global reach the team had built and the trust they had earned with concrete producers. Carbon mineralization in concrete is not just a scientific idea. It has been proven, adopted, and commercially scaled around the world. Ten million, now more than 11 million, truckloads of results is remarkable. It’s exciting to stop and reflect how, every day around the world, that CarbonCure production volume is growing and growing faster.
Being on the inside of the company now and seeing firsthand how the technology is built and how much our customers see the value and feel a commitment to our team and mission, it’s very motivation. This team and our customer network have accomplished so much so fast: A globally recognized brand, thousands of construction projects across nearly 30 countries, and a technology platform that meaningfully helps producers improve their cement efficiency and tap into the green building market. That is a meaningful foundation to build upon.
But beyond the business case, this work is personal to me. I am passionate about innovation in building materials. I also strongly believe in the sustainability mission of CarbonCure and our industry partners because I believe that every concrete truck that rolls out with more efficiency and less carbon in it is movement toward a better future for my kids and all our kids. CarbonCure is part of an ecosystem building something better for the next generation, and there is a lot to be proud of in that.
What's CarbonCure's superpower?
CarbonCure's superpower is that sustainability and profitability are not in tension. They go hand-in-hand. By leveraging the chemistry of carbon mineralization, producers can use less cement without compromising performance, which directly improves their cost position. On top of that, we transform the resulting carbon reductions into high value carbon credits, supporting sustainability teams that are looking to offset their corporation’s emissions and make strategic purchases in the voluntary carbon market. We then share that credit revenue with our producer partners. It is a model designed to deliver real, measurable returns. The environmental results drive economic results, and vic-versa.
What are your top priorities for CarbonCure?
My first priority is getting out and meeting our customers. I want to understand what is working well for them and make sure every partner we work with is seeing clear value, whether that is improved cement savings, new business opportunities or new revenue.
Beyond that, I am focused on making sure we are growing in the right places and continuing to lead with innovation so that our technology keeps delivering for the partners we serve. CarbonCure has already built something truly impressive. I am excited to help take it further.
How quickly do you see CarbonCure scaling?
Quite quickly, because the foundation is already there. We have proven technologies, a strong presence across several continents, and a business model where sustainability and profitability work together rather than against each other. With the cement reduction alone, our solution delivers real savings, and when the value is that tangible, growth naturally follows.
What are you most excited about?
The people, without question. When I toured our headquarters, I was struck by how talented and purpose-driven this team is. They have built something meaningful and credible, and they care deeply about carrying it forward. That energy is something you cannot manufacture, and it makes me very optimistic about what comes next.
I am also excited about what is possible for our customers. The concrete industry plays an enormous role, the largest role, in shaping our built environment, and CarbonCure gives producers a direct way to be leaders in their local markets without sacrificing the bottom line. Helping more businesses succeed and thrive—from family-owned, multi-generational small businesses to the biggest multi-nationals in the industry—is exactly the kind of work I want to be doing.
Last question: Going back to your superpower... you mentioned speaking several languages. How many languages do you actually speak?
A few! [laughs] I am fluent in English, Russian and Ukrainian, and I’m currently working to grow my Spanish vocabulary too. In my youth, I was also fluent in Hindi, but I'm quite rusty with that today. Although, if I hear it enough, it does slowly come back. For some reason, foreign languages have always come naturally to me, which is probably why connecting with people across different cultures and industries feels so comfortable and central to how I lead.
Want to get in touch? Connect with Yuliya Kravtsov on LinkedIn.
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