DiMicco Stepping Aside as Nucor CEO

Dan DiMicco

Daniel DiMicco, who has been CEO of Nucor Corp. for more than 12 years, is stepping down from that role at the end of 2012. In a news release, the company has announced that current president and COO, John Ferriola will follow DiMicco as CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2013. DiMicco will remain with Nucor as its executive chairman.

The Nucor news release says DiMicco led the company “through one of its most explosive and profitable growth periods and an industry-leading total shareholder return of 463.9 percent.”

DiMicco served as Nucor’s CEO longer than anyone since founder Ken Iverson. He became CEO in September of 2000, near the start of an economic slump “that radically restructured the steel industry in the United States and abroad,” according to the company.

“Dan DiMicco has been one of the nation’s outstanding CEOs,” says Peter Browning, a Nucor Corp. board director. “I believe one of his most remarkable and lasting achievements was his ability to retain and strengthen Nucor’s unique culture, even as Nucor’s strategy evolved. While sales rose nearly five-fold and the number of divisions jumped, Dan kept every teammate focused on the Nucor core principles of safety, teamwork, integrity, personal responsibility, performance, continual improvement and profitability,” adds Browning.

Ferriola began his career with Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1974. He joined Nucor in 1992 as manager of maintenance and engineering at its Jewett, Tex., bar mill. Through his first decade with the company, Ferriola served as general manager at three divisions: Vulcraft Texas in Grapeland, Texas; the bar mill in Norfolk, Neb.; and the sheet mill in Crawfordsville, Ind.

John Ferriola

He was named executive vice president in 2002 and COO of steelmaking operations in 2007. In January 2011, the board of directors appointed him Nucor’s president and COO and elected him to the board.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to lead the tremendous team we’ve assembled,” says Ferriola. “We have many challenges in front of us as we continue to work safely and take care of our customers. I am extremely excited about the impressive work being done by our team to significantly grow Nucor’s earnings platform well into the future.”

Says DiMicco, “Nucor couldn't be in better hands. I’m very confident in the ability of John and the rest of our management team to take on our current and future challenges and to lead the company’s continual growth in the coming years. As executive chairman, I look forward to continuing to work with and provide strong support to the executive team led by John in the areas of corporate growth, strategic succession planning and Nucor's efforts to promote a strong, vibrant manufacturing base.”

Nucor and its affiliates are manufacturers of steel products with operating facilities primarily in the United States and Canada. Products made include carbon and alloy steel in bars, beams, sheet and plate; steel piling; steel joists and joist girders; steel deck; fabricated concrete reinforcing steel; cold finished steel; steel fasteners; metal building systems; steel grating and expanded metal; and wire and wire mesh.

Nucor’s David J. Joseph Co. subsidiary brokers ferrous and nonferrous metals, pig iron and scrap alternatives and processes ferrous and nonferrous scrap.