ATI CEO Hassey to retire on May 1
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Allegheny Technologies said Monday that chairman and CEO L. Patrick Hassey would retire May 1 and be succeeded by president and chief operating officer Richard J. Harshman.
Mr. Hassey, 65, said the company was positioned to capitalize on growth in its key markets over the next few years.
"Now is the right time for a change in leadership, and we expect a smooth transition to occur over the next few months," the former Alcoa executive said.
Mr. Hassey has overseen the resurgence of the specialty metals producer since joining the company as president and CEO in October 2003. At the time, Allegheny Technologies was on its way to reporting 10 consecutive unprofitable quarters.
Since then, the company has cut costs, developed new products and markets, and invested more than $2 billion in new and existing facilities, including at its Brackenridge mill. It is in the process of acquiring Ladish, a metal parts supplier to aerospace and industrial markets with annual sales of about $400 million.
"Allegheny is a much more diverse, complicated and large company than it had been," said John C. Tumazos, a Holmdel, N.J., analyst who follows the metals industry.
Allegheny Technologies reported 2010 net income of $70.7 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, on sales of $4 billion. In 2003, it posted a loss of $315 million on sales of $1.9 billion.
Its progress is measured in the price of its stock. Trading at about $7 per share when Mr. Hassey was named CEO, it closed Monday at $67.08, up 72 cents.
Mr. Harshman, 54, has been with the company 32 years. He was named chief financial officer in 2000 and was elevated to his current position in August. Mr. Tumazos said Mr. Harshman has been groomed as a successor and probably has a broader perspective on the company's customer base than an executive who heads up one of Allegheny Technologies' operating units.
First Published March 1, 2011 12:00 am
