Liberty names new UK steel leader

The Liberty business unit of the United Kingdom-based GFG Alliance has appointed Cornelius Louwrens  as chief executive of its U.K. steel division.

Louwrens is currently chief executive of NBH Plate, part of the Russia-based NLMK Group. Louwrens will begin his work with Liberty in February and will be responsible both for the performance and sustainability of the existing Liberty Steel UK portfolio, according to a Liberty news release.

The company says Louwrens also will be responsible for “leading the group towards its target of building 5 million metric of Greensteel production capacity. In addition, he will support Liberty’s global growth strategy in the steel sector.”

Louwrens will succeed current CEO of Liberty Steel UK Jon Bolton, who has accepted the role of international development director, leading Liberty’s expansion efforts outside the U.K.

Liberty says Louwrens has more than 20 years of experience in senior positions with some of the world’s largest steel companies, including ArcelorMittal and Tata. At the NLMK Group he has been a member of a corporate management board and has been “responsible for driving operational efficiency across all NLMK sites” in the European Union and the United States, according to Liberty.

“Cornelius brings us a rare combination of top caliber technical qualifications, excellent operational skills and world class business leadership,” states Sanjeev Gupta, founder of Liberty and executive chairman of the GFG Alliance. “Jon [Bolton] has done a tremendous job for us over the past three years, firmly establishing our steel business in the U.K. and helping us expand outwards. It’s important that he now concentrates fully on that wider international role,” he added.

Says Louwrens, “Liberty has been a story of extraordinary growth over recent years and there is lots more potential to build the business, so I’m extremely excited about being part of this.”

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