Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced the election of George W. Hawk as General Counsel and Secretary, and Dana W. Byrne as Vice President—Public Affairs.

In his new capacity, Hawk will be Chief Legal Officer effective January 1, 2005, replacing John E. Lenhard who will retire after 36 years of service with Cliffs. Byrne will be responsible for government relations, public relations and environmental affairs. Both Hawk and Byrne will report to John S. Brinzo, Chairman and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Hawk, 48, joined Cleveland-Cliffs in 2003 as Assistant General Counsel in the legal department. Later that year, he was named Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Prior to joining Cliffs he was Deputy General Counsel at Lincoln Electric, Legal Counsel at Elsag Bailey Process Automation, an associate at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, and Audit Supervisor at Ernst & Young.

He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and is a certified public accountant. He was graduated from Cornell University with a juris doctorate, a master's of business administration from Case Western Reserve University, and a bachelor's of science in physics from Denison University.

Byrne, 54, joined Cleveland-Cliffs in 1979 as a Tax Specialist and then became Supervisor of State Taxes. In 1987 he moved into government relations and was later named Director—Government Relations. In 2001 Byrne became Director—Public Affairs. A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, Byrne was graduated from St. Joseph College with a bachelor's of science degree in accounting.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, selling the majority of its pellets to integrated steel companies in the United States and Canada. The company operates six iron ore mines located in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada.