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U. S. Steel Announces Management Changes

08/04/2008 - United States Steel announces the appointment of Frederick T. Harnack as General Manager, Operational Excellence, with Kevin L. Zeik replacing him as General Manager, Research, effective immediately.

United States Steel Corp. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Goodish announced the appointment of Frederick T. Harnack as General Manager—Operational Excellence. Kevin L. Zeik will replacing Harnack in his current position as General Manager—Research. Both positions take effect immediately.
 
In his new position, Harnack, 53, will be responsible for implementing the company's operational excellence initiative, which will focus on continuous improvement, technology advancement and standardization activities that will enhance the company’s efficiency and drive its operational performance. Reporting to Goodish, Harnack will be based at the company's corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.
 
In his new position, Zeik, 45, assumes responsibility for U. S. Steel's research and development activities. He will remain at the company's Research & Technology Center, reporting to Anton Lukac, Vice President—Engineering & Technology.
 
Harnack began his career with U. S. Steel in 1976 as a Management Trainee at the slab mill at Mon Valley Works' Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa. Advancing through various operating and maintenance positions at Edgar Thomson and the former Homestead Works, he was named Area Manager for Maintenance at the Edgar Thomson slab mill in 1987 and later moved to Mon Valley Works' Irvin Plant to serve as Area Manager of Galvanizing.
 
From 1990 to 1993, Harnack served as the operations consultant for the PRO-TEC Coating Co. in Leipsic, Ohio, a joint venture between U. S. Steel and Kobe Steel of Japan. In 1993, he returned to the Mon Valley Works as the Casting and Rolling Operating Director.
 
Harnack was named Plant Manager at the Edgar Thomson Plant in 1996 and advanced to General Manager of Mon Valley Works in 1999. With the company’s acquisition of assets of the former National Steel Corp. in 2003, he was named General Manager of Great Lakes Works. He assumed his most recent position as General Manager—Research, in 2005.
 
Harnack earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1976 and a master's degree in business administration in 1982, both from the University of Pittsburgh. He is active in the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST) Foundation.
 
Zeik joined U. S. Steel in 1991 as a Senior Research Engineer in the metallography area, moving into the failure analysis group in 1994 as an Associate Research Consultant. Two years later, he was named Research Manager for the failure analysis and modeling and welding groups.
 
Zeik moved to the materials technology and modeling section in 1999, serving as Research Manager of the group until 2002, when he advanced to Technical Director. Zeik was named to his most recent position, Director—Process Technology, in 2004, where he has overseen efforts to improve process efficiency and adapt existing processes to meet the demands presented by the production of new steel grades.
 
Zeik completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Penn State, receiving a bachelor's degree in metallurgy in 1984 and a master's degree in metallurgical engineering in 1987. He also earned his doctorate in metals science and engineering from Penn State (with research at Iowa State University) in 1990.
 
Zeik is a member of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), and previously severed as chairman of the Iron and Steel Society (ISS) Mechanical Working and Steel Processing Division. He is also a former board member for both ISS and AIST.