U. S. Steel Names Thomas Kelly Managing Director-Transportation and President-Transtar, Inc.

PITTSBURGH, May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) announced today that Thomas Kelly has been named managing director-transportation and president of Transtar, Inc., the company's transportation subsidiary. Kelly succeeded John C. Pranaitis, who elected to retire after 39 years of service with the company. The change was effective May 1.

"John's knowledge of the transportation industry and his commitment to the companies he served during his 39-year career has played an important role in U. S. Steel's efforts to efficiently and effectively service our customers," said Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Goodish.

As managing director-transportation, Kelly, 53, is responsible for various aspects of transportation and logistics at U. S. Steel facilities in North America. He will also oversee operations at the railroad and barge companies that comprise Transtar, Inc.: Birmingham Southern Railroad Company; Delray Connecting Railroad Company; Fairfield Southern Company; Gary Railway Company; The Lake Terminal Railroad Company; McKeesport Connecting Railroad Company; Mobile River Terminal; Texas & Northern Railway Company; Union Railroad Company; and Warrior & Gulf Navigation LLC. Kelly will report to Vice President-Supply Chain & Customer Service John C. Price.

"The steelmaking process depends on the timely, cost-effective transportation of raw materials and finished products to and from our facilities every day," Goodish explained. "Tom's diverse operations background and leadership experiences will help us ensure that our transportation services remain responsive to both internal and external customer needs."

A native of Pittsburgh, Kelly began his career at U. S. Steel in 1978 as a laborer at Gary Works in Gary, Ind. He was promoted through supervisory positions in steel production, iron making and casting at Gary Works and Fairfield Works in Fairfield, Ala., before advancing to division manager-steel production and casting at Gary Works in 1996. Over the next six years, he progressed through similar roles in iron production and at the plant's hot strip mill.

In 2002, Kelly was named vice president and managing director at U. S. Steel Kosice, the company's steelmaking operation in the Slovak Republic. When U. S. Steel completed its purchase of Serbian steelmaker Sartid a.d. in 2003, Kelly was named president and general director of the newly formed U. S. Steel Serbia. In 2005, he returned to the United States and Gary Works to serve as plant manager-primary operations. He advanced to plant manager of Midwest Plant, a finishing facility in Portage, Ind., in September 2006. He assumed his most recent position, general manager-blast furnace engineering & technology, in March 2008.

Pranaitis, 63, began his career in 1969 as a procedure technician in data processing at the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company. During his more than 39 years in the transportation and logistics services fields, he advanced through increasingly responsible positions at several transportation companies under U. S. Steel's ownership, including Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company; Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Company; Union Railroad Company; Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company; and Duluth, Mesabi and Iron Range Railway Company.

In 1995, Pranaitis was appointed assistant vice president-marketing for Transtar, and in 1997, returned to the Duluth, Mesabi and Iron Range Railway Company to serve as general manager. He was named vice president-marketing for Transtar in 1999, and in 2001, he was appointed vice president-Midwestern operations after Transtar became a wholly owned U. S. Steel subsidiary. In 2003, Pranaitis was named president of Transtar and one year later added the duties associated with managing director-transportation for U. S. Steel to his area of responsibility.

Pranaitis is a native of Pittsburgh and graduated from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1967. He also attended the graduate business program at American University in Washington, D.C.

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

SOURCE: United States Steel Corporation

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