WEST CHESTER, Ohio,
May 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- AK Steel
(NYSE: AKS) said today that its Board of Directors has approved the
following executive promotions and organization changes, effective
May 29, 2015.
- Roger K. Newport has been
promoted to Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial
Officer. Mr. Newport was previously Senior Vice President,
Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
- Kirk W. Reich has been
promoted to Executive Vice President, Manufacturing. Mr.
Reich was previously Senior Vice President,
Manufacturing.
- Keith J. Howell has been
promoted to Senior Vice President, Operations. Mr. Howell was
previously Vice President, Operations.
- Joseph C. Alter has been
named Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate
Secretary. He previously was Vice President, General Counsel
and Chief Compliance Officer.
"The executive promotions and organization changes announced
today recognize the distinguished leadership performances and the
outstanding contributions that these talented executives are making
to our company," said James L.
Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel.
"The strong leadership that each one provides as a member of our
company's executive team is helping to position AK Steel for future
success."
Mr. Newport will continue to be responsible for
accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, strategy,
internal auditing, risk management and investor relations, as well
as maintaining oversight responsibility for the company's AK Tube
LLC subsidiary. In addition, he has responsibility for
purchasing (excluding raw materials and energy), as well as
information technology.
He 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, Vice President, Finance
and Chief Financial Officer in 2012, and Senior Vice President,
Finance and Chief Financial Officer in 2014.
Mr. Newport is a member of the Board of Directors of the
American Iron and Steel Institute and a member of the Board of the
Cincinnati USA Regional
Chamber. He is also a member of the Dean's Executive Advisory
Board for Xavier University's
Williams College of Business, and a
member of Financial Executives International. He served as
Group Chair, Special Projects for the 2014 United Way of Greater
Cincinnati Campaign. Roger holds a BBA degree in Accounting
from the University of Cincinnati and
an MBA with honors from Xavier
University.
Mr. Reich has responsibility for the company's
manufacturing operations. In addition, he has responsibility
for the company's safety and quality programs, engineering, raw
materials and energy procurement, transportation, outside
processing and manufacturing planning. Also, he has oversight
responsibility for the company's subsidiary, AK Coal Resources,
Inc., as well as for the company's interest in Magnetation
LLC.
He began his career with the company in 1989 in the engineering
department at Middletown Works. He has extensive engineering,
operations and maintenance experience, having led the company's
Middletown and Mansfield plants in prior years. He was named
General Manager, Mansfield Works in 2000, General Manager,
Middletown Works in 2006, Vice President, Specialty Steel
Operations in 2010 and Vice President, Procurement and Supply Chain
Management in 2012. He was named Senior Vice President,
Manufacturing in 2014.
Mr. Reich serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the
Atrium Medical Center Foundation. He served as Group Chair,
Regional Campaigns for the 2014 United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Campaign. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil
Engineering from The Ohio State
University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Mr. Howell has responsibility for the operations and
maintenance of all of AK Steel's manufacturing plants.
He joined AK Steel in 1997 as Manager, Steelmaking at Middletown
Works. He progressed through a number of increasingly
responsible operating positions at the 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 and Vice President,
Operations in 2012. Prior to joining AK Steel, he had ten
years of operating experience with U.S. Steel.
Mr. Howell serves as a member of the Executive Board of the
Association for Iron and Steel Technology. He previously
served as a board member of the Butler
County Community College, Community Development Corporation
of Butler County, King's Daughters
Medical Center, the Ashland Alliance and United Way. 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. Alter will continue to run the Legal Department and
is responsible for all legal matters at the company, excluding
Labor and Litigation, and he adds responsibility as Corporate
Secretary. His legal oversight responsibility includes
commercial, securities, antitrust, intellectual property, mergers
and acquisitions, and corporate matters. He continues to
serve as Counsel to the CEO and to the Board of Directors, and as
the company's Chief Compliance Officer. He also has
responsibility for environmental affairs.
He joined AK Steel in 2009 as Corporate Counsel. He was
named Corporate Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer in 2011 and
Assistant General Counsel, Corporate and Chief Compliance Officer
in 2012. In 2014, he was named Vice President, General
Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to joining AK
Steel, he was Corporate Counsel with Convergys Corporation.
He was also a Senior Associate for Keating
Muething & Klekamp PLL.
Mr. Alter serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Easter
Seals TriState and the Bethesda Foundation. He is a guest
lecturer at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University (Ohio) and is a former board member of Art
Works Cincinnati. He graduated Cum Laude from Miami University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Political Science and Economics. He holds a Juris Doctor from
the University of San Diego School of
Law.
AK Steel
AK Steel is a world leader in the production of flat-rolled carbon,
stainless and electrical steel products, primarily for automotive,
infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power
generation and distribution markets. Headquartered in
West Chester, Ohio (Greater Cincinnati), the company employs
approximately 8,000 men and women at eight steel plants, two coke
plants and two tube manufacturing plants across six states:
Indiana, Kentucky,
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Additional information about AK
Steel is available at www.aksteel.com.
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SOURCE AK Steel