Chief Executive Officer and President 

Sergei Kuznetsov

“Severstal NA is unique among North American steel producers, because we have new, highly capable facilities in the north and south that utilize both blast furnace and electric arc furnace technologies. This allows us to leverage the best options both geographically and technologically for our customers.”

Sergei has served as Chief Executive Officer of both Severstal International and Severstal North America since July 2009. He first joined the company in 2002 to head the business development group created to acquire foreign assets and develop international projects. In 2004 Sergei was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Severstal North America and in 2008 he became Chief Financial Officer of OAO Severstal in Moscow, Russia.

Sergei successfully managed OAO Severstal’s finances through the 2008-2009 recession and liquidity crisis; and currently he is leading the upgrade and development of operations both in Dearborn, Mich., and Columbus, Miss.

Sergei serves on the boards of both the American Iron and Steel Institute and the U.S.-Russia Business Council and is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events around the world.

He earned his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bauman Moscow State Technical University. He holds an MBA in Finance from California State University and completed the Leadership Best Practices course at Harvard Business School.

Chief Financial Officer

Mark J. Yost

“Our focus is to meet and exceed Severstal shareholders’ performance targets. While the company expects global growth, it must balance strategic execution with turnaround management. As a result, flexibility and visibility will be key drivers, achieved through improving financial analytics and decision support. Accurate information will be critical and our team will rapidly generate and analyze financial information to help the business be more competitive.”

Mark has been Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President since May 2008, currently responsible for both Finance and IT departments. From December 2007 to May 2008, Mr. Yost was General Manager, Maintenance, Repair and Operations Purchasing. He was Manager, Profit Analysis and Business Planning, from 2005 to 2007, and Manager, Profit Analysis, Budgeting and Treasury, from 2004 to 2005. Mr. Yost also held various finance positions with Rouge Steel.

In 2011, Yost led a multi-disciplinary group in the divestiture of three of Severstal’s underperforming steelmaking assets resulting in the company’s continued success and strategic refocusing on its most efficient mills.

He holds an MBA and BS in Finance from the University of Michigan.

Vice President, Human Resources

Melvin E. Baggett

“HR has moved from being an entity focused solely on procedures and policies to becoming a strategic part of the Company’s long-term business planning process. We have achieved a seat at the table."

Mel has been Vice President of Human Resources at Severstal NA since January 2004. He began his career with Ford Motor Company and worked in several divisions before coming to Rouge Steel Company, then an affiliate of Ford. He has served in a variety of human resources, employee relations, union affairs and benefits planning positions and facilitated the Company’s spin off to an independent enterprise. Similarly, he helped managed the transition, when Severstal acquired Rouge Steel out of bankruptcy; and he was instrumental in the formation of an innovative collective bargaining agreement that helped sustain the business.  

When Severstal made the decision to divest its Warren, Wheeling and Sparrows Point facilities, Mel shepherded affected employees through the process.

A vocal supporter of the steel industry, he often speaks at “Stand Up for Steel” events.

A graduate of Wayne State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice/Political Science, Mel is a lifetime member of the NAACP and a strong proponent for diversity in the workplace.

He serves on the advisory board for Bridging Communities, a non-profit that seeks to provide quality housing and elder care services and participates in a variety of United Way and Junior Achievement activities.

Vice President, and General Manager Severstal Dearborn

Bruce Black

"It is an honor to be a part of the Severstal team that is renovating this historic site into a modern producer of automotive steel. As we modernize the facilities, we are transforming the culture. My vision for the Dearborn plant is for it to become a lean, employee-empowered producer of world-class quality automotive steels.”

Bruce has been Vice President and General Manager of Severstal Dearborn since February 2010. Prior to that, he served as Manager, Steelmaking Operations, at the same location.  

Bruce began his career with Mittal Steel (formerly ISG and LTV Steel) where he worked in Operations and later took a position as General Manager at Gerdau MacSteel. Before joining Severstal in 2009, he was Vice President of Operations at Brad Foote Gear, a manufacturer of industrial gearing systems.

A graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, he has 30 years of experience in the steel manufacturing industry.

Bruce, who has spoken several times to members of the Association for Iron and Steel Technologies, published a paper on tundish lining improvements. Early in his career, he was a key player in reviving a shuttered mill and counts the reopening of the facility and ensuing morale revival as one of his proudest moments in the industry.

He has served on the Heartwalk Board for the American Heart Association.  

Vice President, Corporate Planning and Logistics

Michael W. Bohn

“Corporate Planning and Logistics is a key component in providing a superior service to our customers. Our area is responsible for maintaining the equilibrium between our customer demands and the efficient utilization of our manufacturing assets.”

Michael has been Vice President, Corporate Planning and Logistics since March 2010. Previously, he served as General Manager, Corporate Information Technology at Severstal North America. From 2008 through 2009, he was Manager of Planning and Logistics for Severstal Columbus. Prior to joining Severstal, he was Senior Division Manager for Planning, Logistics and Outside Processing at ArcelorMittal. Mr. Bohn began his career with McLouth Steel where he worked in Quality and Planning departments.

Bohn is a graduate of Wayne State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1986.

With over thirty years of experience in the industry, Bohn is instrumental in achieving customer service and product delivery objectives.

Vice President, Strategy and Business Development

Saikat Dey

"Severstal is one of those few global institutions that are positioned to create abnormal value for its shareholders. It possesses all the right ingredients to make this possible – a balanced portfolio in terms of production assets, its degree of vertical integration, its exposure to emerging markets, the quality of its human capital and its ability to make quick decisions. I am personally excited as I look toward the future and what it could mean for Severstal.”

As Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Saikat is responsible for driving the company’s business strategies in North America and leading the parent company’s expansion efforts in Asia.

He joined Severstal NA in 2011 from McKinsey and Company where he served as Associate Principal in the Global Energy and Materials practice. During his stint at McKinsey, he focused on value creation in cyclical, capital-intensive commodities, including the steel and mining sectors. He is widely recognized as a global thought leader on investment strategies, commercial optimization and operational improvement within these industries. Saikat has spoken on these topics at industry conferences around the world.

Prior to McKinsey, Saikat held positions at IBM and a number of early stage technology companies in various sales and product marketing roles. He holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and an undergraduate degree in Mining Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in India.

Vice President, Purchasing

David A. Howard

“I believe we have significant opportunities to reduce costs and streamline our business processes; and I look forward to optimizing procurement practices to increase the contribution our Purchasing organization can make to the overall success of Severstal.”

David has been Vice President of Purchasing since November 2011. His most recent post was Chief Commercial Officer for RG Steel. Previously, David had been Vice President and General Manger of the Severstal’s Sparrows Point facility prior to its divesture and served as Vice President of Corporate Planning for Severstal North America.

With more than 30 years of experience, his roots in the steel industry go deep. His resume includes a stint with WCI Steel from 1999 to 2008 where he was Vice President Commercial. He joined WCI Steel at its inception in 1988 and prior to being named Vice President had worked his way up through a series of posts including regional sales manager, marketing manager and general sales manager. Before coming to WCI Steel, he spent seven years with LTV Steel and its predecessor company Jones & Laughlin.

David is a graduate of Grove City College (Pennsylvania) with a degree in business administration.

Vice President, Quality and Product Development

Christopher Kristock

“This is a very exciting time to be involved in the steel industry and working for Severstal. The metallurgical design and processing requirements for the new generation of Advanced High Strength Steels represent a unique challenge and opportunity for Severstal and all steel-producing metallurgists and related automotive engineers. We are conducting research to foster the technology that ultimately will help us achieve the more diverse mechanical properties needed by the automotive industry.”

Chris was named Vice President of Advanced Engineering, Quality Assurance and Technical Services in January 2004. Previously, he served in the same capacity for Severstal NA’s predecessor--Rouge Steel Company. There he held a variety of leadership positions in technology, quality assurance and metallurgy.

At Severstal, he has played a key role in the concept, development and ultimate implementation of several IT system improvements including the Continuous Caster quality defect modeling application and the Dearborn-based Quality Information System, which supports a number of quality data-collection, reporting and problem-solving tools for the company.  

A distinguished graduate of Wayne State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Metallurgical Engineering, he was a finalist for the David B. Henry Award for Outstanding University Graduate. He serves as chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Committee on Manufacturing Technology focusing on technological growth in steel production practices, awareness of global environmental legislation and emerging technologies for CO2 mitigation.

He delivered the keynote address to Severstal’s Automotive Customer Conference, in Antalya, Turkey, in October 2008 and recently made a presentation on CO2 generation and mitigation in the modern steel industry to the Detroit chapter of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology. He sponsored Severstal’s participation in WorldAutoSteel’s very successful, Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) initiative.

Chris began his career with Jones & Laughlin Steel, which later merged with Republic Steel to become LTV Steel.   

Vice President, Commercial

Thomas M. Marchak

“We’re focusing on steel-consuming markets and specific customers; working to create value.”

Tom has been Vice President of Commercial at Severstal NA since May 2009. Previously, he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Severstal Columbus, a post he assumed in 2006.

 As Commercial leader of Sales and Marketing, he acts as a liaison between senior leadership, operations, production planning, quality/technology and finance helping determine the most profitable opportunities for Severstal that align with company capabilities and processes.

One of the original team members, he was instrumental in the development of the industrial park concept at Severstal Columbus in Mississippi taking the project through to start-up. “We established a business operation that is customer-focused, successful and running full,” he notes.

Before joining Severstal, Tom was Vice President of Commercial for Kenwal Steel. He began his career with Bethlehem Steel where he worked in sales and marketing for 20 years.

Tom serves on the boards of both the Steel Marketing Development Institute and Spartan Coil Coatings and often addresses industry organizations, including, American Metal Market, American Women in Metals Industries, Metal Service Center Institute and the Steel Tube Institute.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Scranton and has completed executive courses at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Vice President, General Counsel

Martin Szymanski

"The steel business is the toughest industry I have worked in. It doesn’t get the credit it deserves for its complexity and technical demands. And people don’t realize the resilience and dedication of its hourly and salaried workforce. Through all the ups and downs, I am proud to have been a part of it.”

Marty has been Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Severstal North America since January 2004. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Rouge Industries, Inc., and Rouge Steel Company—the company's predecessor.

As General Counsel, he oversees a wide variety of legal matters including intellectual property, environmental, litigation, anti-trust, real estate, purchasing, human resources, marketing and international law.

“Our attorneys are called upon to handle the full spectrum of legal issues that touch on nearly every aspect of our operation,” he says.

Marty graduated from the University of Detroit with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and received his Juris Doctor degree from the Detroit College of Law.

He began his professional career in the tax department at KPMG and worked in several other manufacturing businesses prior to joining the steel industry.

Marty also serves on the Board of Directors of Severstal Dearborn, Severstal Columbus and Mountain State Carbon.

Vice President, and General Manager, Severstal Columbus

Wilbur A. Winland

“My current assignment has been the most exciting and challenging of my career. Working with one of the most talented and engaged workforces in one of the country’s best steel making facilities is a manager’s dream. We need to continue our focus on being a supplier of choice to the automotive, HVAC and tubular products markets.”

Wilbur has been Vice President and General Manager of Severstal Columbus since May 2011. Prior to his current position he served as President of Severstal Wheeling and Severstal Warren, and as CEO and President of Mountain State Carbon.

Wilbur began his career with Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corporation where he worked in operations at the Blast Furnace and Continuous Caster. In 1985, he started working for Rouge Steel Company assisting in the Continuous Caster start up. His experience includes management positions in the Blast Furnace, Basic Oxygen Furnace, Continuous Caster, Hot Strip Mill, Cold and Finishing Mills, and Labor Relations. He also has served as Vice President of Operations and Sr. Vice President of Purchasing.

A graduate of Salem College (West Virginia) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, he has 35 years of experience in the steel manufacturing industry.

The Board of Directors / Managers

Sergei Kuznetsov - Member of the Board, Severstal North America
Martin Szymanski - Member of the Board, Severstal Dearborn  
Mark J. Yost - Member of the Board, Severstal North America