Roger K. Newport, chief executive officer and board member, AK Steel, will be named Steelmaker of the Year at AISTech 2017 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition.
The Steelmaker of the Year Award is presented annually by AIST to recognize notable leaders for their impact on the steel industry.
Newport is being recognized for his strategic and dynamic leadership at AK Steel, engaging and empowering employees to drive innovation, quality, safety, environmental stewardship, and productivity to meet the needs of its customers with outstanding products and processes — today and for the future. He is also a leader in the industry, fighting for steel manufacturing in America and serving as a voice for support and change in the domestic and global steel industry.
Newport started his career with the company in 1985 in the accounting department. He advanced through a number of increasingly responsible finance, sales and marketing roles at the corporate headquarters and the company’s Middletown Works. He was named controller in 2001 and chief accounting officer in 2004. He advanced to vice president, business planning and development in 2010, and vice president, finance and chief financial officer in 2012. He was named senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer in 2014, and executive vice president, finance and chief financial officer in 2015.
Newport has steered efforts to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and has helped to bring new steels to the market, including the company’s NEXMET family of advanced high-strength steels. In addition, he has continued to support AK Steel’s ongoing investment in research and innovation, which can be seen in the expansion of its research team and the opening of the company’s brand new research center in Middletown, Ohio. As chief executive, Newport also helped to guide a significant upgrade to AK Steel’s Dearborn Works to a successful completion late in 2016.
Newport serves as vice chairman of the board of directors of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and is chairman of the AISI finance committee. He is a member of the board of directors of the World Steel Association, and a member of the Steel Market Development Institute CEO Group. Newport is a member of the Washington, D.C., Business Roundtable. He is also a member of Financial Executives International.
Newport serves on the board of directors of the Cincinnati, Ohio Regional Chamber and the business advisory council for the Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Newport holds a B.B.A. degree in accounting from the University of Cincinnati and an M.B.A. with honors from Xavier University.
Published in the May 2017 Edition of American Recycler News