In a statement, the company said Eder’s contract as chief executive will be allowed to run out on 3 July 2019, at which point Herbert Eibensteiner, who currently serves as steel division head, will step into the role.

“We have regretfully taken note of Dr. Eder’s decision not to make himself available again as CEO. Hence, we reviewed possible candidates and found an excellent successor in Herbert Eibensteiner,” said voestalpine supervisory board chairman Joachim Lemppenau.

Eibensteiner, who holds a degree in mechanical engineering and business management from Vienna University of Technology, began his voestalpine career in 1989 as a plant engineer responsible for maintenance. From 1993 to 2000, he served as an executive in cold rolling mill maintenance, quality management, workplace safety, and environmental protection.

In 2000, he moved over to the metal forming division, where he held several management positions and was eventually appointed to oversee the operation. In 2014, he was named head of the steel division and oversaw opening of voestalpine’s direct reduction plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the supervisory board of voestalpine AG for the trust they place in me,” Eibensteiner said.

“Together with our smoothly running management board team, I want to continue on this successful path, and I thank Wolfgang Eder for his successful 15-year stewardship of the company, including some very difficult times during which the group reached an entirely new dimension, but I thank him above all also for the trust he always placed in the management board team.”

At the conclusion of his tenure, Eder is to stand for election to voestalpine’s supervisory board as shareholder representative. If elected, he would take the board chairman’s seat in 2021 under the company’s succession planning.