U. S. Steel Announces Three More Executive Retirements
02/11/2009 - United States Steel announces three additional senior-level executives have elected to retire from the company effective April 1, 2009: J. James Kutka Jr., Christopher J. Navetta, and Eugene P. Trudell.
United States Steel Corp. Chairman and CEO John P. Surma announced that three additional senior-level executives have elected to retire from the company effective April 1, 2009. The three include J. James Kutka Jr., Senior Vice President—Strategic Planning & Business Development; Christopher J. Navetta, Senior Vice President—Procurement, Real Estate, Raw Materials & Integration; and Eugene P. Trudell, Vice President—Business Services.
Kutka, 60, started with U. S. Steel in 1967 as a production worker at the company's former Canton Roll & Machine Works. After earning a degree in accounting from the University of Akron in 1970, he joined the accounting staff at the Canton Works and later held accounting posts at the former Lorain-Cuyahoga Works, the Haverhill chemicals plant, Gary Works and several departments at Pittsburgh headquarters.
Subsequent positions included General Manager of Southern Area Purchasing in Houston, Texas; Manager of Business Planning at the former Geneva-Pittsburg Works in Provo, Utah; and District Sales Manager for U. S. Steel in Detroit. Kutka returned to Pittsburgh headquarters in 1993 as General Manager of Human Resources, followed by subsequent positions as General Manager of Business Process Reengineering, and General Manager of Marketing & Planning (Sheet Products). He returned to the Detroit area in 1997 as General Manager—Automotive.
Kutka returned to Pittsburgh in 2001 as Vice President—Commercial, later assuming the additional role of President—United States Steel International, Inc. (2002). He was appointed Senior Vice President—Commercial in 2005 and Senior Vice President—Sales & Customer Service in March 2008. He was appointed to his current position in June 2008 with responsibility for the development of initiatives that support the company's business strategy.
"Throughout his long and distinguished career, Jim's leadership and expertise in a number of important roles have been valuable assets to our company," said Surma. "His accomplishments at U. S. Steel and on behalf of our industry as a leader of American Iron and Steel Institute market development activities are a reflection of his intimate understanding of steel's importance to our society's past, present and future."
Navetta, 61, joined U. S. Steel in 1969 as an accounting trainee at Gary Works after earning a bachelor's degree in business administration from Michigan State University. Over the next 18 years, he advanced through increasingly responsible positions and management roles in accounting at company locations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, California and Illinois. He moved to corporate headquarters (Pittsburgh) in 1987 to serve as Director—Analysis and General Accounting, and was subsequently named General Manager—Administration and Group Comptroller for the Diversified Group (1989). In 1992, Navetta was appointed Comptroller—Raw Materials for Diversified Business and Joint Ventures, a position that included representing the company on the management committees for several joint ventures with foreign steelmakers.
After serving as General Manager—Plate Products (Gary Works) from 1994 until 2001, Navetta was named President of USX Engineers and Consultants, Inc., holding that position until 2002, when he was appointed Executive Vice President of U. S. Steel Kosice (USSK) in the Slovak Republic. He was named president of USSK in 2003, then returned to Pittsburgh headquarters as Senior Vice President—Procurement, Logistics and Diversified Businesses (2005). He was appointed to his current post in March 2008 with responsibility for procurement, real estate, raw materials and acquisition integration activities.
"Chris's wide-ranging accomplishments during his nearly 40-year career at U. S. Steel are a testament to his abilities as a leader," said Surma. "In recent years, his service as president of our European operations and his leadership of acquisition-related integration activities played important roles in our company's efforts to build on our reputation as a leader in our industry."
Trudell, 60, began his career with U. S. Steel in 1970 as an order Detailer in Commercial Order Entry at the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh. In 1977, he moved to Marketing Administrative Services as a Systems Designer, subsequently progressing through a number of increasingly responsible positions in tubular marketing, business planning, and commercial and quality systems.
In 1989, Trudell transferred to Mon Valley Works after being named Manager—Business Systems. His responsibility for the Mon Valley Works facilities was expanded in 1993 to include process control when he was named Manager—Systems and Process Control.
Trudell returned to headquarters in 1996 as General Manager—Computer Services, a position he held until 2002, when he was named Managing Director—Information Technology Services. He assumed his current post in October 2003 and is responsible globally for information technology, process control and other administrative functions. Trudell earned a bachelor's degree in education from Duquesne University in 1970.
"Gene has dedicated his entire career to advancing the information technology and corresponding technological systems used in U. S. Steel's operations and administrative processes," said Surma. "His efforts have contributed significantly to our ability to seamlessly conduct business at locations around the world and have helped us maintain our reputation for being an industry leader in the use of technology at all levels of our company."
Surma noted the company would name successors for Kutka's, Navetta’s and Trudell’s areas of responsibility at a later date.
