About T.C. Graham

Tom C. Graham Sr., is widely known as one of the steel industry’s most successful and innovative executives. A former draftsman and civil engineer, he was named president of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. in 1974. In 10 years, he took the company through a merger with Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., and then an acquisition of Crucible Steel’s Midland plant. He departed J&L in 1983 to restructure the United States Steel Corporation, where he served as president of the U. S. Steel Group of USX Corp. until 1991. Over that period, finished products went from 8 man-hours per ton down to 4 man-hours per ton, contributing to a dramatic swing in profitability for the company. Graham had similar results as chairman and CEO of Washington Steel Co. (1991–1992).

From 1992 to 1994, Graham was president and CEO of Armco Steel Co. L.P., predecessor of AK Steel. He was the founder and served as chairman and chief executive officer of AK Steel Corp. (1994–1995), and remained as chairman until his retirement in 1997. After his arrival at Armco Steel in 1992, the company went from being the least profitable U.S. steel company to earning the most profit per ton, and producing steel with the fewest man-hours per ton, of any of its major competitors over the following five years. He is now with TC Graham Associates as a founding member.

In 2014, Mr. Graham donated US$100,000 to the Association for Iron & Steel Technology to establish the T.C. Graham Fund for Innovation in Steel Application. The purpose of the Fund is to sponsor an annual contest to recognize innovative applications for steel that lead to the development of new markets.