I am pleased to announce Cliffs’ Senior Leadership Team (SLT) reporting directly to me. Through this executive leadership structure, our senior team is repositioned toward our most critical current and future business needs and opportunities. Comprised of experienced executives well-versed with managing through volatile commodity cycles and increasingly complex competitive challenges, the SLT will focus collectively on cost management, strategy, operations improvements and creating future optionality through a collaborative and collective decision-making process. Individually, these leaders will have increased day-to-day responsibility. As short-term challenges are addressed, I will also be mindful of our need to more fully articulate the longer-term strategy for the company.
 
The SLT will lead the company in a pragmatic manner to deliver value to our shareholders. The emphasis is to be a lean organization through process simplicity and growing within our means. As we improve our financial stability, our company’s balance sheet must match our portfolio of assets and be capable of absorbing cyclic volatility to stay the strategic course. This will also permit us to reliably invest in our operating assets in a disciplined manner to sustain operational stability and sustained cost competitiveness.
 
As an independent, owner-operated mining company, operations is our foundation. Organizationally, we will move from a single global operations leader to creating three senior level business unit operators. This realignment streamlines a layer of top management and allows for more direct line responsibility for achieving operational performance. Our senior leadership for the corporate functions will remain the same. They will be aligned to support our global operations, improve our customer relationships, and drive more cohesive decision-making -- all of which will be essential to future growth. With this new SLT, we will be making additional organizational changes supporting this overall structure in the next month.
 
The following executive changes are effective immediately.
 
Duke Vetor, executive vice president, Global Operations Services, has announced his resignation from Cliffs to pursue other interests effective 1 March 2014.  Duke joined Cliffs as general manager, safety and operations improvement in 2005.  By 2006, he was promoted to vice president, North American Iron Ore.  Duke transitioned to leading the company’s coal business as senior vice president, North American Coal in late 2007.  He held that position until 2011 when he was named senior vice president, Global Operations Services.  In that role, he was responsible for global safety and technical support at all of Cliffs’ operations, and was instrumental in the worldwide roll-out of standardized business improvement methodologies.  Most recently in 2013, he was promoted to executive vice president, Global Operations Services where he had executive oversight for the company’s Eastern Canada Iron Ore operations and continued to lead the GOS group.  Duke has over 30 years of experience in operating roles at mines, both at Cliffs and Rio Tinto.
 
With Duke’s departure, his other areas of responsibilities will be realigned into operations and the corporate functions. The detail of these changes will be communicated to employees within the next month.
 
Cliff Smith is named executive vice president, Seaborne Iron Ore.  Cliff formerly, executive vice president, Global Operations, will lead a newly created operating group.  He will provide leadership for our global iron ore mining operations in Eastern Canadian and in Asia Pacific.  
 
Terry Fedor is promoted to executive vice president, United States Iron Ore. Terry will maintain executive responsibility for Cliffs’ iron ore operational activities in the U.S.
 
Dave Webb is promoted to executive vice president, Global Coal. Dave will have an expanded global focus and will continue to lead our coal business in the U.S.
 
The following executives will continue in their current leadership roles.
 
Kelly Tompkins, executive vice president, External Affairs and president, Global Commercial
 
Terry Paradie, executive vice president & chief financial officer
 
Jim Michaud, executive vice president, human resources & chief human resource officer
 
Please join me in congratulating our senior leadership team, and supporting those in their new roles and assignments.  Also, join me in extending a sincere appreciation to Duke Vetor for his contributions to the company, and let’s wish him the best in his future plans.
 
Cliffs has a strong heritage as a mining company that customers, communities and employees value and respect.  With this legacy, it is incumbent upon us to preserve this and strengthen our foundation which generates long-term shareholder value.
 
Sincerely,
Gary B. Halverson
President and Chief Operating Officer