Citing health reasons, Slate, who leads Nucor's commercial strategy, will officially step down on 11 June, capping more than two decades at Nucor and more than 30 years in the industry. 

“MaryEmily's dedication, exceptional leadership and commitment to excellence have contributed greatly to the growth and profitability of Nucor. More importantly, her passion for encouraging and developing teammates will be one of her lasting legacies,” said Nucor president and chief executive Leon Topalian in a statement. “On behalf of the board of directors and all Nucor teammates, I want to extend our deep appreciation to MaryEmily for her leadership and commitment to making Nucor a better company.”

Slate joined Nucor Steel Arkansas in 2000 as a district sales manager after having advanced through service center sales and management positions elsewhere.  She then progressed through a series of roles with greater responsibilities, including as sales manager and cold mill manager for Nucor Steel Decatur LLC, general manager and vice president of Nucor Steel Auburn Inc., and vice president of Nucor Steel Arkansas. 

She was promoted to her current position in 2019.

Slate is succeeded by Dan Needham, Nucor’s executive vice president of bar, engineered bar and rebar fabrication products.

His new duties took effect today. Needham has been with the company since 2000 and has held a number of roles, including as general manager of Nucor Steel Connecticut Inc., Nucor Steel Utah and Nucor Steel Indiana. He was named a vice president in 2016 and an executive vice president in 2021.

John Hollatz, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel–Decatur LLC, has been chosen to succeed Needham as executive vice president of bar, engineered bar and rebar fabrication products. Hollatz joined Nucor in 1999 as a design engineer with Vulcraft Indiana and has served in a variety of roles within the company, including general manager of Nucor Building Systems South Carolina, general manager of Vulcraft Indiana, president of Vulcraft/Verco Group and vice president of Nucor Corp.

In additional personnel news, Nucor executive vice president of fabricated construction products Chad Utermark has been promoted to executive vice president of new markets and innovation. In this newly created position, Utermark will focus on Nucor’s expansion into new business markets.

Utermark is a 30-year veteran of Nucor Corp. and has worked as hot mill manager of Nucor Steel–Arkansas, roll mill manager and later general manager of Nucor Steel–Texas, and general manager of Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. He was named a vice president of Nucor in 2009 and promoted to executive vice president in 2014.

Read the full press release from Nucor here.