WEST CHESTER, Ohio,
May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AK Steel
(NYSE: AKS) today announced that four of its officers have new
executive-level responsibilities, effective immediately. The
changes in responsibilities were made as part of the company's
long-term strategic and succession plans. Executive officers
appointed to positions with new responsibilities are:
- Albert E. Ferrara, Jr., 63, has
been named Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor
Relations. Mr. Ferrara was previously the company's Senior
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
- Roger K. Newport, 47, has been
named Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Newport was previously Vice President, Business Planning and
Development.
- Keith J. Howell, 46, has been
named Vice President, Operations. Mr. Howell was previously
Vice President, Carbon Steel Operations.
- Kirk W. Reich, 44, has been
named Vice President, Procurement and Supply Chain
Management. Mr. Reich was previously Vice President,
Specialty Steel Operations.
Additionally, AK Steel announced that Maurice A. ("Mo")
Reed, 49, has been named to a
newly-created position of Vice President, Engineering, Raw
Materials and Energy. Mr. Reed
was previously Director, Engineering, Raw Materials and Energy.
"I believe that AK Steel has one of the finest executive
management teams in the steel industry," said James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO
of AK Steel. "The appointments announced today will further
strengthen the company's top leadership team and position AK Steel
for the future as we focus on long-term strategic and succession
planning."
Mr. Ferrara joined AK Steel in June
2003 as Director, Strategic Planning and was named Vice
President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer later that
year. He was named Senior Vice President, Finance and CFO in
2010. Prior to joining AK Steel, he had more than 30 years of
experience with U.S. Steel Corporation, USX Corporation, and the NS
Group where he held various senior level positions. Mr.
Ferrara holds a BS degree in Finance, with Distinction, and a Juris
Doctorate degree, both from the University of Virginia.
Mr. Newport started his career with the company in 1985 in the
accounting department. He advanced through a number of
increasingly responsible finance, sales and marketing positions at
the company's corporate headquarters and Middletown
Works. He was named AK Steel's Controller in 2001,
adding responsibilities as Chief Accounting Officer in 2004.
He was named Vice President, Business Planning and Development in
2010. Mr. Newport is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a BBA degree in
Accounting and he holds an MBA, with Honors, from Xavier
University.
Mr. Howell joined AK Steel in 1997 as Manager, Steelmaking at
Middletown Works. He progressed through a number of
increasingly responsible operating positions at the company's
Middletown, Ashland and Butler plants before being named Director,
Engineering and Raw Materials in 2009. He was named Vice
President, Carbon Steel Operations in 2010. Prior to joining
AK Steel, Mr. Howell had ten years of operating experience with
U.S. Steel. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Metallurgical Engineering from the University
of Pittsburgh and an MBA degree from The Ohio State University.
Mr. Reich began his career with the company in 1989 at
Middletown Works. He progressed through a number of
increasingly responsible engineering and operations positions at
the company's Middletown,
Rockport and Mansfield plants. He was named General
Manager, Middletown Works in 2006 and Vice President, Specialty
Steel Operations in 2010. He holds a Bachelor of Science
degree in Civil Engineering from The Ohio
State University and an MBA degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Mr. Reed joined AK Steel in 1996 as a project manager following
12 years of engineering technology experience with the former
National Steel Corporation. He advanced through a number of
increasingly responsible engineering, operations support, process
research, and energy positions at the corporate headquarters, and
the Rockport and Middletown plants before being named Director,
Engineering, Raw Materials and Energy in 2011. Mr. Reed
graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University
of Missouri, Rolla with a Bachelor's degree in Structural
Engineering.
AK Steel
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical
steels, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing,
construction and electrical power generation and distribution
markets. The company employs about 6,200 men and women in
Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate
headquarters in West Chester,
Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on
the company's web site at www.aksteel.com.
AK Tube LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs
about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube produces carbon
and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel
products for truck, automotive and other markets. Additional
information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at
www.aktube.com.
AK Coal Resources, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary of AK
Steel, owns or leases metallurgical coal reserves in Somerset County, PA. AK Steel also owns
49.9% of Magnetation LLC, a joint venture headquartered in
Grand Rapids, MN, which produces
iron ore concentrate from previously mined ore reserves.
SOURCE AK Steel