Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced the appointment of William Brake as Executive Vice President, Cliffs Metallics and Chief Technical Officer, effective April 16, 2007.

Brake previously served as Executive Vice President of Operations for Mittal Steel USA, with full operating responsibility for all of Mittal's domestic steel operations. He began his career with LTV Steel; following LTV’s acquisition by the International Steel Group, Brake was responsible for the initial re-start of its Cleveland facilities.

Cleveland-Cliffs President and CEO Joseph A. Carrabba commented, "Bill is a highly respected leader whose extensive steel-industry expertise complements the talents of Cliffs' existing leadership team. We look forward to his contribution as we continue to grow our organization."

Brake is a member of the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, and formerly was co-chair of the Ohio Steel Industry Advisory Council. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, both from Case Western Reserve University.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and sells the majority of its pellets to integrated steel companies in the United States and Canada. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc operates a total of six iron ore mines located in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada. The company also is majority owner of Portman Limited, an iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore.