Minimill steelmaker Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, has announced that its board of directors has elected Leon J. Topalian as a director and John H. Walker to serve as nonexecutive chairman of the board, both effective Jan. 1, 2020. Topalian is the president and chief operating officer of Nucor and will become the chief executive officer of Nucor Jan. 1, 2020. Walker, who has more than 35 years of experience in metal-related manufacturing and fabricating industries, has served as a member of Nucor's board of directors since 2008 and as lead director of Nucor since 2017.
Topalian served as an executive vice president of Nucor from 2017 to 2019 and as a vice president of Nucor from 2013 to 2017. He has been employed by Nucor in various capacities since 1996, including serving as general manager at Nucor's facilities in Arkansas and Illinois, as well as a melting and casting manager, an operations manager, a cold mill production supervisor and a project engineer.
Walker served as nonexecutive chairman of Global Brass and Copper Holdings Inc., which is based in Schaumburg, Illinois, from 2014 to 2019, before the company was acquired by Germany-based Wieland Group. He also was executive chairman of Global Brass and Copper from 2013 to 2014 and chief executive officer of Global Brass and Copper from 2007 to 2014. Prior to joining Global Brass and Copper, Walker was president and chief executive officer of The Boler Co.; chief executive officer, president and chief operating officer of Weirton Steel Corp.; and president of flat-rolled products for Kaiser Aluminum Corp. He also is a director of Owens-Illinois Inc. and will serve as a director of Otis Elevator Co. after its planned separation from United Technologies Corp. in 2020, Nucor says.
"Leon and John have made outstanding contributions over their many years of service to Nucor," says John J. Ferriola, chairman and chief executive officer of Nucor. "This is the culmination of many years of thoughtful succession planning, and I have full confidence in their leadership."
"It is incredibly humbling to be asked to join the board of directors, and I look forward to working with John Walker and the rest of the board to lead Nucor," Topalian says. "Our tremendous culture has produced solid results in 2019, and I look forward to building on those successes in coming years."
"I am honored to have been chosen by my fellow directors to serve as nonexecutive chairman and enthusiastically welcome Leon to the board," Walker says. "I look forward to continuing to work with him, the rest of the board and all of our teammates at Nucor in this new role."