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Cleveland-Cliffs Expands Finance Group
10/16/2007 - Cleveland-Cliffs announces changes in its Finance Group, including the appointments of Terrance M. Paradie as Vice President, Corporate Controller, and Kathleen L. Bardwell as Vice President, Internal Audit.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced changes in its Finance Group, including the appointments of Terrance M. Paradie, CPA, CA, as Vice President, Corporate Controller, and Kathleen L. Bardwell, CPA, as Vice President, Internal Audit.
“As we expand Cliffs’ presence as an international mining company, it is necessary that we establish the requisite talent and structure to support both our core business and our accelerating growth,” said Laurie Brlas, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “With this objective in mind, we have made a number of new appointments and changes to Cliffs’ finance organization, effective immediately.”
Cliffs also announced the promotion of Steven Raguz to the position of Vice President, Corporate Planning and Treasurer; and the appointment of Robert Leroux to the position of Vice President, Finance.
Terrance Paradie, 39, joins Cleveland-Cliffs from the international accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP, where he served in a variety of roles—most recently as an audit partner—since joining the firm in 1992. In his current position, Paradie is responsible for Cliffs’ corporate internal and external accounting and reporting, including Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting and disclosures. He is also responsible for setting accounting and reporting policy, including the control processes and procedures for all areas of the company.
Paradie earned a Bachelors of Commerce from the University of Windsor, with dual majors in Accounting and Finance.
Kathleen L. Bardwell, 51, brings more than 25 years’ experience in accounting and internal audit, in conjunction with demonstrated expertise in risk assessment, corporate governance and SEC reporting. She joins Cliffs from STERIS Corp. where she served as senior director, internal audit. Prior to that, she was Vice President, Internal Audit & Tax, for Cole National Corp.
Steven M. Raguz, 39, Cliffs’ Vice President, Corporate Planning and Strategic Analysis, will assume the added role of Treasurer of the company. Raguz joined Cliffs in March 2007, with responsibilities for long-term financial planning and strategic analysis, including evaluation of corporate development opportunities and strategic transactions. His appointment to treasurer is intended to ensure capital structure planning is aligned with Cliffs’ long-term strategic plan, as well as strategic cash management.
Robert J. Leroux, 57, a 32-year mining-industry veteran, has been named Vice President, Finance, and assumes financial responsibility for Cliffs’ growing international operations. Previously, Leroux served as Cliffs’ Vice President, Controller. In his new role, he will coordinate the company’s financial activities in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. In addition, he is leading the financial integration of Cliffs’ newly acquired metallurgical coal operations and is serving as financial liaison to Cliffs’ current and future international joint-venture partners.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cliffs also owns 80% of Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. The company also has a 30% interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45% economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project.
