United States Steel Corp. has advanced Peter J. Alvarado to the position of General Manager—Automotive and Vice President U. S. Steel International with responsibility for the company's technologically advanced Automotive Center in Troy, Mich.

In his new assignment, Alvarado will oversee the sale of steel to automotive manufacturers and the development of new steels that meet the demanding requirements of the next generation of automobiles. Alvarado succeeds Sharon K. Kelley, who has been named plant manager of U. S. Steel's Midwest Plant, a finishing operation in Portage, Ind. The appointment was effective August 1.

Alvarado will report to J. James Kutka, Vice President—Commercial, who said, "With his strong business and engineering knowledge, Pete has distinguished himself with our customers in the highly competitive automotive steel market. A natural choice to fill this challenging position, we are confident that Pete will keep U. S. Steel in the forefront of the ever-changing automotive market."

Alvarado received a bachelor's degree in metallurgical and materials engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (Pa.) in 1978, and earned master's degrees in both metallurgical engineering and business administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1981.

He began his career with U. S. Steel in 1981 as a metallurgical engineer at the company's Technical Center in Monroeville. In 1985, Alvarado transferred into marketing and sales and advanced through a series of increasingly responsible positions covering a broad range of flat-rolled products.

In 1996, he moved into automotive sales as a Senior Sales Engineer. In 1998 he was named to his most recent position, Director of Sales for Automotive Transplants — foreign automotive manufactures who have set up operations in the United States.