SPEAKER
BIOGRAPHIES
LOURENCO GONCALVES
Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Cleveland-Cliffs
Lourenco Goncalves has been chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cleveland-Cliffs since August 2014. He designed and led the company through a major strategic initiative transforming Cleveland-Cliffs into a leading player in the U.S. steel industry, starting with a complete financial turnaround, followed by growth initiatives in the metallics market, and the entry into the steel and prime ferrous scrap businesses. In 2017, Cliffs started construction in Toledo, Ohio, of the world’s most modern direct reduction plant, which started operations in November 2020. Goncalves successfully led four major company acquisitions beginning with AK Steel in March 2020, followed by the acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA in December 2020, Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. in November 2021, and most recently Canadian-based Stelco Holdings Inc. in November 2024. With the Toledo plant, Cleveland-Cliffs is the sole producer in the Great Lakes region of hot briquetted iron (HBI), an environmentally friendly metallic feedstock designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Prior to Cleveland-Cliffs, Goncalves served as chairman of the board, president and CEO of Metals USA Holdings Corp., a leading American manufacturer and processor of steel and other metals, for over 10 years. Prior to Metals USA, Goncalves served as president and CEO of California Steel Industries Inc. for 5 years. Prior to that, he was employed by Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), a major steel and mining company in Brazil, where he held several positions in operations and sales. From October 2011 to April 2014, Goncalves was a board member of Ascometal SAS, a manufacturer of special steel headquartered in Paris, France.
Goncalves serves on the board and is chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute. Goncalves is a Distinguished Member and Fellow of AIST. He received AIST's Steelmaker of the Year Award in 2021. Also in 2021, S&P Global Platts presented Goncalves with the CEO/Chairperson of the Year Global Metals Award, which honors a leader who is highly respected by both peers and competitors, admired and followed by employees, trusted by investors and welcomed by the community. Under Goncalves’ leadership, Cleveland-Cliffs was awarded by S&P Global Platts the top Global Metals Award as the 2021 Metals Company of the Year and the 2021 Deal of the Year Global Metals Award. Goncalves was also presented with the 2021 Steel Advocate of the Year Award, from Fastmarkets. In 2022, Goncalves was presented with the Willy Korf/Ken Iverson Steel Vision Award, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the steel industry while promoting goodwill and integrity.
MÁXIMO VEDOYAChief Executive Officer
Ternium
Máximo Vedoya is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ternium, one of the leading steel companies in the Americas. Ternium is a publicly traded company with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2025, Ternium reported annual revenues of US$15.6 billion and employed 33,000 people. In 2025, Máximo was named AIST Steelmaker of the Year. He is also president of the Latin American Steel Association (Alacero); vice president of the Mexican Iron & Steel Industry Chamber (Canacero); president of the SME Commission of the Mexican Business Coordinating Council; and member of the executive council and president of the Engineering Committee at the University of Monterrey. His prior roles included serving as chairman of the Economics Committee at the World Steel Association, as president of the Industry and Transformation Chamber (Caintra) of Nuevo León, México, and as president of Canacero. Born in Argentina, he graduated as an industrial engineer from the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires and holds an M.S. degree in management from Stanford University. Since 1992, Vedoya’s key positions have included planning, sales, exports and commercial director in Ternium companies in Argentina and Venezuela. In 2010, he was appointed executive president of the Andean Region (Colombia), in 2012, executive president of Ternium Mexico, and on 1 March 2018, he was appointed CEO of Ternium.
NAVEEN JINDAL
- Chairman
Jindal Steel
A well-known Indian industrialist and philanthropist, Naveen Jindal is the chairman of Jindal Steel, one of India’s leading industrial conglomerates in the steel, mining and infrastructure sectors. His vision is driven by the core principle of nation building wherein each of Jindal Steel’s businesses is focused toward building world-class capabilities to make India self-reliant and a global economic powerhouse. Jindal Steel also has operations in Africa.
He is a member of Parliament, serving his third term and is committed to championing societal causes, effecting transformative changes in countless lives. Jindal is the president of the Flag Foundation of India. He is the founding chancellor of O. P. Jindal Global University, ranked as the number-one private university in India as per the QS World University Rankings. He also serves as the president of the Indian Steel Association (ISA), the apex body of the domestic steel industry that works collectively to grow the sector. In recognition of his accomplishments in industry, politics and education, he was conferred with the lifetime achievement award by the University of Texas at Dallas in 2023.
His strategic acumen also earned him recognition as one of India’s Most Powerful CEOs by The Economic Times-Corporate Dossier (2011), the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2010) and one of Fortune India’s Best CEO (2024).
ANDRЀ BIER GERDAU JOHANNPETER
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Gerdau
André Bier Gerdau Johannpeter has 40 years of experience at Gerdau and held the position of chief executive officer (CEO) from 2007 to 2017. He was president of the World Steel Association in 2018–2019. Currently he serves as chairman of the board of directors of Gerdau SA, and member of its advisory committees; chairman of the board of directors and Metalúrgica Gerdau SA; board member of the executive committee of the World Steel Association; board member of directors of Instituto Aço Brasil (Brazilian Steel Institute); board member of Alacero (Latin American Steel Association); vice chairman of the Federation of Industries of São Paulo – FIESP; vice chairman of the Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul – FIERGS; and board member of Transforma RS.
Johannpeter holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. In addition, he has studied general business administration at the University of Toronto, marketing at the Ashridge Business School, and advanced management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
GUILHERME CHAGAS GERDAU JOHANNPETER
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
Gerdau
Guilherme Chagas Gerdau Johannpeter earned a bachelor’s degree in law from Unisinos in 1995 and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from the Kellogg School of Management. He has worked at Gerdau for over 37 years. He served as a vice president of the Gerdau Executive Committee, coordinating the Special Steel Business Operation, the Latin American Business Operation, and the actions arising from the Gerdau 2022 Project – Strategy (2014-2017). He was the vice chairman of the board of directors of Gerdau S.A. and of Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A. from 2018 to 2020. He was the chairman of the board of directors of Gerdau S.A. and of Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A. from 2020 to 2025. He is currently the vice chairman of the board of directors of Gerdau S.A. and a member of its advisory committees; the vice chairman of the board of directors of Metalúrgica Gerdau S.A.; a board member of Gerdau Previdência; (iv) a board member of the Instituto Gerdau; (v) a board member of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development; and (vi) a member of the Global Advisory Board of Kellogg Northwestern.
STEFAN RAUBER
Chairman of the Management Board
SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA
Stefan Rauber has been managing SHS - Stahl-Holding-Saar GmbH & Co. KGaA, Aktien-Gesellschaft der Dillinger Hüttenwerke and Saarstahl Aktiengesellschaft since July 2023. After holding positions of responsibility in the Saarland state parliament and in the Saarland Ministry of Economics, Labour, Energy and Transport, he moved to the Montan-Stiftung-Saar in 2019. In his current position, Rauber's goal is to successfully guide the companies through the transformation to the production of green steel.
MARK D. MILLETT
Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer
Steel Dynamics Inc.
Mark D. Millett co-founded Steel Dynamics in 1993 and has been instrumental in building the company from its inception to its current status as one of the largest steel producers and metals recyclers in North America. Millett has served as the board chair since May 2021 and has been the chief executive officer since January 2012. Since that time, the company has grown significantly through transactional investments, including the transformational acquisition of the Columbus Flat Roll Steel Division, and the acquisition of the Heartland Flat Roll Steel Division. Under his leadership, the company has continued its extensive organic growth strategy through the construction and ramp-up of its Southwest-Sinton Flat Roll Steel Division and through the expansion of its product offerings into the aluminum flat rolled market with the construction of a 650,000-metric-ton lower-carbon, recycled aluminum flat rolled mill, with two supporting satellite recycled aluminum slab centers.
Millett was responsible for the design, construction, and start-up operation of all Steel Dynamics steel mills, including the company’s first flat roll, melting, and casting operations in Butler, Ind. Prior to cofounding Steel Dynamics, Millett was integral in leading the design, construction, and operation of the melting and casting area at the world’s first electric arc furnace (EAF) thin-slab flat roll steel mill.
Millett is a past chairman of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA). In 2019, he was the recipient of the James F. Collins Achievement in Advocacy Award by the SMA. In 2014 and 2022, he was named AIST Steelmaker of the Year. In 2024, he received the Willy Korf/Ken Iverson Steel Vision Award in recognition of the significant contributions he has made to the steel industry while promoting goodwill and integrity.
DAVID BURRITT
President and Chief Executive Officer
United States Steel Corporation
David B. Burritt was appointed president and chief executive officer of United States Steel Corporation in May 2017. At that time, Burritt was also named to the company’s board of directors. He had been elected president and chief operating officer in February 2017 with executive responsibility for all aspects of the company’s day-to-day business in the United States and Central Europe.
Burritt joined U. S. Steel in September 2013 to serve as executive vice president and chief financial officer with responsibility for all aspects of the company’s strategic and financial matters.
Prior to joining U. S. Steel, Burritt served as chief financial officer at Caterpillar Inc.
Burritt was born in St. Louis, Mo., USA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1977 from Bradley University in Peoria. Burritt received an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois in Champaign in 1990.
Burritt serves on the board of directors for Lockheed Martin and the National Safety Council and serves on the executive committee of worldsteel. He is also a member of The Business Council and a member of the G100.
ABEY ABRAHAM
Managing Principal
Ducker Carlisle
Abey K. Abraham is a managing principal at Ducker Carlisle where he leads Ducker’s automotive, transportation and materials practice, specializing in transportation, mobility and electrification-related client needs. He holds a B.S. degree in psychology from Michigan State University. Abraham has nearly 20 years of experience in the advanced materials space, understanding key drivers and strategic elements of lightweighting, materials substitution, and joining, and expertise in metallic and nonmetallic materials. Clients value his strategic expertise and leadership in pursuing growth strategies (organic and inorganic) to optimize solutions to address dynamic mobility and lightweighting trends and its supply chain. He serves on the board of directors of the Society of Automotive Analysts (past president and chairman) and is on the editorial advisory board for Lightweighting World Magazine.
RON ASHBURNExecutive Director
AIST
Ronald Ashburn is the executive director of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), having served in this capacity since the organization’s founding in 2004. Ashburn is responsible for oversight of business operations and strategic planning initiatives for AIST and the AIST Foundation. He formerly was the managing director for the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers (AISE) from 2002 until its merger with the Iron & Steel Society to form AIST. Prior to AISE, he was employed with the German engineering firm SMS, a global builder of steel plants, where he last served as vice president — operations for their Steelmaking and Casting Division in North America. He held previous positions with SMS and the consolidated Mannesmann Demag including vice president — casting and hot rolling as well as director of technology for steelmaking and casting. Ashburn received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and participated in metallurgical process training at the University of British Columbia and global business management training at the University of Virginia. He serves on the board of trustees for the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and the United Engineering Foundation (UEF).
PHILIPP ENGLINChief Executive Officer
World Steel Dynamics
Philipp Englin joined World Steel Dynamics in 2008 after a career spanning roles in engineering and corporate strategy functions. He worked closely with WSD’s founders as chief executive officer for over a decade, before taking over WSD’s day-to-day operations. Along with WSD’s highly capable team of senior practitioners and analysts, he authors WSD’s breakthrough Information Service reports while leading efforts across the full range of WSD products and services from WSD's consulting/advisory practice to its premier industry conferences. Englin holds bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and philosophy from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh.
GEOFF GILMORE
President and Chief Executive Officer
Worthington Steel
Geoff Gilmore is president and chief executive officer of Worthington Steel, which became a stand-alone public company in December 2023 following its separation from Worthington Industries. With nearly 30 years of experience in the metals industry, he leads Worthington Steel’s operations and long-term strategic growth, including expansion in electrical steel, value-added processing capabilities and the company’s recently announced intent to acquire Kloeckner & Co., a global steel service center and metal processing leader.
Gilmore joined Worthington Industries in 1998 as an inside sales representative in the Steel Processing division, the business that would later become Worthington Steel, and advanced through roles of increasing responsibility across sales, operations and purchasing. Over the course of his career, he served as general manager of a manufacturing facility, vice president of purchasing, president of the Steel Processing division and later president of the Pressure Cylinders division. He was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Worthington Industries before leading the launch of Worthington Steel as an independent public company.
Gilmore serves on the boards of Worthington Steel, the American Iron and Steel Institute and Valparaiso University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
JOHN LICHTENSTEINManaging Partner
World Steel Dynamics
John Lichtenstein is managing partner at World Steel Dynamics. He brings more than 35 years of experience as an industry thought leader and global consulting practice leader at Accenture, Arthur D. Little and RCG Research and Consulting Group. Lichtenstein has had a long association with World Steel Dynamics. He has been a featured speaker at numerous Steel Success Strategies Conferences, where he addressed a wide range of topics including mergers and acquisitions, business transformation and technology, and organization and leadership.
