Severstal Replaces U.S. Management Team

Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal has replaced most of its North American senior management group over the past four weeks, Crain's Detroit Business reports.

The exodus began when CEO Sergei Kuznetsov left the company on Sept. 3. Since then Severstal has replaced the unit's chief financial officer, three vice presidents and several other top managers.

The new CEO, Saikat Dey, tells CDB the previous team was focused on adding assets and maintaining an automotive business. Now, he says, the much smaller unit has shifted focus to making higher-margin steel and striving for sustainable profitability.

Severstal bought the former Ford Rouge steel plant in Dearborn, Mich., in 2004. It quickly acquired more mills, quadrupling its annual steelmaking capacity in North America to 11.4 million tons.

But the economic downturn prompted the company to reverse direction. It slashed capacity 64% to 4.1 million tons as revenue plunged 59% to $3.4 billion between 2008 and 2011. Now Severstal's operations are concentrated in two facilities: its updated Rouge complex and a new steel plant in Columbus, Miss.