U. S. Steel Announces Executive Changes

United States Steel Corporation (Pittsburgh, PA) chairman and chief executive officer John P. Surma recently announced several executive-level leadership changes.

Vice president of supply chain and customer service John C. Price elected to retire effective November 30, after 40 years of service with the company. Anton Lukac, who served as vice president-engineering and technology, assumed Price's position, and Anthony R. Bridge, who was vice president of operations, will succeed Lukac.

"The extensive and varied operations experiences John had throughout his distinguished career served our company well during times of important change and ultimately enabled him to be an exceptional leader for our supply chain functions since his appointment to that position in 2008," said Surma. "As a third generation U. S. Steel employee, John exhibited a strong sense of commitment to our company throughout his 40-year career, and we wish him and his family all the best in his retirement."

Price, 62, a native of Pittsburgh, started his career with the company in 1969 as an operations trainee at Fairless Works near Philadelphia. From 1969 to 1991, he advanced through increasingly responsible positions in tin mill operations, metallurgical engineering and quality assurance at Fairless Works, corporate headquarters, Mon Valley Works' Irvin Plant and Gary Works.

In 1991, Price was named division manager of sheet products at Mon Valley Works, and two years later transferred to headquarters as district manager-customer technical services, East. He returned to Gary Works in 1994 to serve as manager of quality assurance and manager of business services, respectively, before advancing to plant manager of finishing operations in 1996. He returned to Pittsburgh headquarters as general manager of tin products in 1997.

Following the acquisition of National Steel in May 2003, Price was named general manager of the Midwest Plant and led the successful integration of that facility. In 2005, he was named general manager of business planning. He was appointed vice president of supply chain in March 2008 and added responsibility for customer service in April 2009. Price graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering.

In his new position, Lukac, 49, will be responsible for the company's business planning, logistics services, processed products and customer service organizations. Lukac will report to senior vice president of North American flat roll operations Michael S. Williams.

"Anton's detailed knowledge of our operations ? gained during a career that includes plant management and executive oversight of research and engineering activities ? make him a solid choice to fill this important role," Surma explained.

Lukac began his steelmaking career at Slovak steelmaker VSZ a.s. in 1982 as a technologist in the cold rolling mill. Over the next 16 years, he progressed through increasingly responsible positions in a variety of departments, eventually serving as vice president of technology for VSZ.

When U. S. Steel Kosice (USSK) was created in November 2000, Lukac was named vice president of strategic implementation and reported directly to USSK's president. In that position, he was responsible for USSK pipe and radiator operations while managing 18 USSK domestic and foreign subsidiaries and supporting regional development through USSK's Economic Development Center.

In July 2003, Lukac was appointed plant manager of U. S. Steel's Clairton Plant, a coke making facility in Clairton, PA. In December 2006, he advanced to plant manager of Mon Valley Works' Edgar Thomson Plant, a primary steelmaking facility in Braddock, PA.

He was named general manager of Mon Valley Works in January 2007 with responsibility for operations at all four Mon Valley Works facilities: the Clairton Plant; the Edgar Thomson Plant; the Irvin Plant (finishing) in West Mifflin, PA; and the Fairless Plant (galvanizing) near Philadelphia.

Lukac was appointed to his most recent position in March 2008. Lukac, who is a native of Martin in the Slovak Republic, graduated from Technical University in Kosice, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in 1982.

Bridge, 55, assumes executive responsibility for research and development activities at the company's Research and Technology Center in Munhall, PA, Automotive Center in Troy, MI, and USSE Research in Kosice, Slovakia. He will also oversee engineering; coke battery assessment, reliability and rehabilitation; and blast furnace engineering and technology activities across the company. He will report to executive vice president and chief operating officer John H. Goodish.

"We are confident that Tony's operations experience coupled with his previous leadership of our research and engineering disciplines will aid our efforts to remain a leader in steel process and product development," Surma noted.

Before joining U. S. Steel in 1998 as area manager of the former No. 13 blast furnace at Gary Works in Gary, IN, Bridge spent 19 years at Inland Steel in East Chicago, IN, and three years at Rouge Steel in Dearborn, MI. He advanced to division manager of iron producing at Gary Works in 1999 and to plant manager of primary operations in 2001.

In 2003, Bridge transferred to Pittsburgh headquarters when he was named managing director-blast furnace engineering and technology. He was appointed vice president of engineering and technology in 2005; vice president of operations, East in March 2008; and vice president of operations in April 2009.

Bridge, from Gary, IN, earned a bachelor's degree in industrial management from Purdue University's Krannert Business School in Lafayette, IN, in 1976; a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University at its Calumet Campus in Hammond, IN, in 1991; and a master's degree in business from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, IN, in 2004. Bridge currently serves as president of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology.

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