Premal Desai has been appointed chairman of the executive board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, replacing Andreas Goss who is resigning following the failure of the ThyssenKrupp/Tata Steel Europe merger, which was recently cancelled.
Desai was previously chief financial officer of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG and prior to that washead of strategy at thyssenkrupp AG.
In addition to the resignation of Andreas Goss, Heribert Fischer has also resigned, but will remain with thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG in an advisory capacity at the request of the company.
Bernhard Osburg, currently responsible for sales management in the steel segment, will join the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG as chief commercial officer responsible for all sales and innovation activities in the steel business.
The future steel executive board will now consist of only four members. Aside from Desai and Osburg, the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG will continue to include Dr. Arnd Köfler, responsible for production, and Dr. Sabine Maaßen, responsible for personnel and social policy. The responsibilities of the smaller management board will be realigned, claims the company. Premal Desai will take over the strategy and planning function as well as the financial function and will lead the management board.
Guido Kerkhoff, CEO of thyssenkrupp AG, said he was pleased that a new steel board member had been appointed as the company's steel business was facing major challenges. "We have now put together a strong team that will tackle the tasks at hand quickly and develop a sustainable strategy for steel following the cancellation of the joint venture".
Premal Desai said that shaping the future of steel was a challenging task. "We look forward to tackling this together as management team. The market environment is not easy, but we are in a strong position and have a lot of potential."
The Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG thanked Andreas Goss and Heribert Fischer for their very successful work in the steel sector, stating that both had consistently developed the steel business further. "Under the leadership of Andreas Goss, Steel Europe has maintained its leading market position in Europe in recent years even in an extremely challenging environment. The Executive Board of thyssenkrupp AG wishes Andreas Goss and Heribert Fischer great success for the future and all the best personally," the company said in a press statement.
Andreas Goss joined the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG in 2012 and since January 2013, he had been chairman of the management board and CEO since 1 June 2014. Prior to joining thyssenkrupp, Goss held various management positions at Siemens, most recently as CEO of Siemens UK and North West Europe.
Heribert Fischer has been with TK since 1990 and has been a member of the executive board of thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG since 1 October 2011. From 2013 to 2016, he was responsible for sales and since 2016 for production in the rolling and coating areas as well as for innovation and logistics. Previously Fischer was responsible for various production areas at thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG.