The shareholders of California Steel Industries, Inc. (CSI) have elected to rotate the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions of the company, in keeping with historical practices.
Mr. Toshiyuki "Ted" Tamai, longtime executive at CSI, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of the company effective 1 August 2012, replacing Mr. Vicente Wright, who has been appointed as CSI's Chairman of the Board of Directors, replacing Mr. Kaoru Okamoto.
CSI's two shareholders are Vale S.A. and JFE Steel Corporation of Japan. Each shareholder owns 50% of the shares of CSI. The leadership changes follow a longstanding practice where one shareholder company has appointed the CEO and the other the Chairman of the Board position, and then vice versa upon the next rotation.
Mr. Tamai has served as Executive Vice President, Operations since July 2001. He has been with CSI since 1995, previously holding positions as Manager, Hot Strip Rolling and Finishing Operations, and General Manager, Hot Rolling and Tubular Products. Prior to joining CSI, he worked as Senior Staff Engineer at AK Steel, Middletown, Ohio. Mr. Tamai has been associated with JFE Steel and its predecessor, Kawasaki Steel Corporation, since 1973.
Mr. Wright has served as President and CEO at CSI since July 2008. Prior to assuming responsibility for this position, he served as CSI Chairman of the Board. He is also a former President and CEO for CSI, from February 2003 to June 2004, and served as the Company's Executive Vice President, Finance, from February 1998 to February 2003. Over the years, Mr. Wright has also served in numerous executive and managerial positions with Vale, in Brazil, Japan and the U.S.
California Steel Industries, Inc., located near Fontana, Calif., is the leading producer of flat rolled steel products in the western U.S. (the 11 states located west of the Rocky Mountains) based on tonnage billed, with a broad range of products, including hot rolled, cold rolled, and galvanized sheet and electric resistant welded pipe. CSI has nearly 1,000 employees.