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| September 3, 2009
Alcoa Re-Aligns Global Primary Products Business to Sustain and Accelerate Improvements, Seize Growth Opportunities
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today a re-alignment of its Global Primary
Products (GPP) business organization that will sustain and accelerate
the many improvements the operations have made, and seize growth
opportunities as the economy recovers.
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Effective immediately, John Thuestad, 49, has been named to the new
position of Chief Operating Officer for GPP Worldwide, reporting to
Bernt Reitan, Alcoa Executive Vice President and President GPP.
Thuestad was formerly President of GPP-United States.
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Jean-Pierre Gilardeau, 57, has been appointed to the new post of
President, GPP-North America and Iceland. He had been President,
GPP-Canada and Iceland. He will report to John Thuestad and will be
responsible for overseeing Primary operations in the U.S., Canada and
Iceland.
Bob Wilt, VP of Operational Excellence in U.S. Primary, will replace
Thuestad as President of GPP–United States. Pierre Morin, VP Operations
GPP-Canada, will become President, GPP-Canada.
Bernt Reitan said, “These changes strengthen our Primary business on a
both a global and regional basis, puts proven leaders in our key U.S.
and Canadian markets, and further aligns our organization for continued
success.”
Biographical information follows:
John Thuestad
John Thuestad joined Alcoa in 2008 as President, Global Primary Products
– United States, with responsibility for Alcoa’s aluminum smelters in
the U.S. and the alumina refinery in Pt. Comfort, Texas.
Before coming to Alcoa, John was President and CEO of Elkem AS of
Norway, a metals and materials company, since 2005. Alcoa’s 45-year
presence in Norway was established through a partnership with Elkem.
Between 2000-2005, he was senior vice president, Aluminium Division and
Managing Director of 50%-Alcoa owned Elkem Aluminium ANS.
John also held the CEO and President positions at Norzink, a zinc and
aluminum fluoride producer owned 50/50 by Rio Tinto and Boliden. He was
the Managing Director of Hydro Aluminium – Fundo Wheels, a producer of
low pressure aluminum wheels for high end automakers such as BMW, Audi
and Volvo.
John has held various production, marketing and project management
positions at the Bremanger and Salten silicon plants, Sulitjelma copper
smelter and Elkem Engineering Division in Norway. From 1988-1992 he was
sales/marketing manager with Elkem Metals USA based in Pittsburgh.
John graduated from the Norwegian Technical University in 1983. He
obtained an MBA degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in
1990.
Jean-Pierre Gilardeau
Jean-Pierre Gilardeau became President, Alcoa Global Primary Products
for Canada and Iceland in 2007. He had been president of Alcoa’s Primary
Metals facilities in Canada, which include Baie Comeau, ABI (Aluminerie
de Bécancour Incorporée), Bécancour Rod Plant, and Aluminerie de
Deschambault (Lauralco). With the addition of Iceland, Jean-Pierre has
accountability for Alcoa’s first new primary smelter in 20 years, the
Fjardaal smelter in Iceland, and is overseeing the feasibility study to
establish a second smelter in Bakki, North Iceland.
Jean-Pierre joined Alcoa in 1998 as works manager of Eastalco (Maryland)
Works in the U.S. In 2000, he was named president of Alcoa’s Northeast
Smelting Region, with responsibility for the company’s Canadian and New
York State aluminum smelters based in Quebec.
Prior to joining Alcoa, Jean-Pierre was general manager of the
Alumax-owned Aluminerie Lauralco smelter in Quebec, a position he held
for eight years. Alcoa acquired Alumax in 1998.
Earlier in his career, Jean-Pierre served in various management
positions at Graybec Inc., a major lime and quarry operation in
Joliette, Quebec, and was an engineer for the chemical division of
Domtar, Inc.
Jean-Pierre holds an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique de
Montreal.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary
aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active
and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa
serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction,
commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design,
engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to
customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including
flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also
markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment
castings, and building systems. The Company has been named one of the
top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index for seven consecutive years. Alcoa employs
approximately 63,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More
information can be found at www.alcoa.com
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