U. S. Steel Announces Management Changes at Gary Works and Granite City Works

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United States Steel Corporation Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Goodish today announced several management changes at the company's operating facilities in the United States. Sharon K. Owen has been named general manager of Gary Works in Gary, Ind., replacing Frederick G. Jauss, who has elected to retire after 39 years of service with the company. Richard E. Veitch will return from the company's operation in the Republic of Serbia to serve as general manager at Granite City Works in Granite City, Ill., which was Owen's most recent assignment. The moves are effective March 1.

"Fred Jauss' distinguished career has been characterized by solid leadership and remarkable flexibility," said Goodish. "During his 39 years with our company, Fred managed some of our most important functions and disciplines with the highest level of professionalism."

In her new position, Owen, 54, and a Gary native, will have responsibility for steelmaking and finishing operations at Gary Works, tin production at East Chicago Tin in East Chicago, Ind., and finishing operations at Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind. Gary Works is the largest single integrated steelmaking facility in the United States and has an annual raw steelmaking capability of 7.5 million net tons. Owen will report to Vice President-Operations, Midwest Michael S. Williams.

"Sharon has held key leadership roles within our company, including several at the Northwest Indiana facilities she will now oversee," said Goodish. "We are confident that her broad background and strong managerial skills will be an important asset to our Gary Works operations."

Owen began her U. S. Steel career at Gary Works in 1978, where she progressed through several supervisory positions in the quality assurance department before serving as a customer technical services representative at several sales offices in the East and Midwest beginning in 1990.

In a series of moves, Owen was named manager of quality assurance for Mon Valley Works' Fairless Plant near Philadelphia in 1993; senior area manager-steel producing at Gary Works in 1994; and manager of automotive marketing at Pittsburgh headquarters in 1996. After advancing through a number of sales and marketing positions in automotive and tin products, she was named general manager-commercial, tin products in 2003, and in 2004, she became general manager-automotive, a position based at U. S. Steel's Automotive Center, an automotive customer-dedicated sales and research facility in Troy, Mich.

Owen was named plant manager-Midwest Plant in 2005 and then moved back to Gary Works in 2006 to serve as plant manager-primary operations. She advanced to her most recent position, general manager-Granite City Works, in February 2008.

Owen earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University in 1978 and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. She and her husband, Robert, will relocate to Northwest Indiana.

Veitch, 46, will oversee operations at Granite City Works, a St. Louis-area plant with an annual raw steelmaking capability of 2.8 million net tons. Veitch will also report to Michael S. Williams.

"Rick has demonstrated his skills as an operator and a manager throughout his career, including during his most recent assignment as the head of our Serbian operations. His experience will serve Granite City Works and the surrounding community well," Goodish commented.

Veitch started at U. S. Steel in 1981 as a co-op student employee in the hot strip mill at Gary Works. After completing his undergraduate degree in 1985, he joined the company full time, serving as a turn foreman in Gary Works' cold rolling mill. He progressed through managerial positions in several areas of the facility's finishing operations before joining National Steel in 1996.

When U. S. Steel acquired National Steel in 2003, Veitch was named division manager of sheet products for the Midwest Plant, a former National facility. Later that year, he was named plant manager of Mon Valley Works' Irvin Plant, where he was responsible for all rolling and finishing operations at the suburban Pittsburgh facility as well as the galvanizing line at Mon Valley Works' Fairless Plant.

In 2006, Veitch relocated to the Slovak Republic to serve as vice president-operations at U. S. Steel Kosice. He assumed his most recent post, vice president and general director of U. S. Steel Serbia, in November 2007 and was responsible for the management of U. S. Steel facilities in Smederevo, Sabac and Kucevo.

Originally from New Kensington, Pa., Veitch attended Purdue University-Lafayette (Ind.) for both his undergraduate and graduate studies, earning his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1985 and his master's degree in management in 1992. Veitch, his wife, Kathy, and their two sons will reside in the Granite City area.

Jauss, 59, and native of Trenton, N.J., joined U. S. Steel in 1968 as a co-op student employee in the metallurgy department at the company's Fairless Works and served in that position until his graduation from Drexel University in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering. After graduating, he accepted a management trainee position in Fairless' sheet and tin metallurgy department. From 1972 to 1983, he progressed through a series of supervisory roles in the plant's tin mill quality control, metallurgy and quality assurance departments before transferring to Gary Works, where he spent eight years advancing through the positions of quality assurance manager-hot rolling, area manager-hot rolling, and manager-hot rolling and sheet and tin quality assurance.

In 1991, Jauss moved to Fairfield Works in Fairfield, Ala., to serve as manager of quality assurance. He was named general manager of research at Pittsburgh headquarters in 1996, general manager of sheet technology in 1999, and managing director of technology in 2002. In 2003, Jauss returned to Gary Works to serve as plant manager-finishing operations. Two years later, he was appointed general manager-Great Lakes Works, where he oversaw steelmaking and finishing operations at the company's Ecorse and River Rouge, Mich., facility. He returned to Gary Works in February 2008 after being named to his most recent position.

For more information about U. S. Steel, visit www.ussteel.com.

SOURCE: U. S. Steel

Web site: http://www.ussteel.com/