Nucor Corp. chairman and chief executive officer John Ferriola will retire at the end of this year and will be succeeded by executive vice president Leon J. Topalian.
Ferriola has been with Nucor for more than 28 years, having joined the company in 1991 as the maintenance and engineering manager at Nucor Steel–Texas. He later served as general manager of Vulcraft-Texas, Nucor Steel–Nebraska and Nucor Steel–Indiana.
He was named a vice president in 1996 and an executive vice president in 2002. In 2007, he was promoted as chief operating officer of steelmaking operations and was later appointed president and chief operating officer. He has served as the chief executive officer since 2013.
Topalian joined Nucor in 1996 and has led company facilities in Arkansas and Illinois as general manager. He was named a vice president in 2013 and became an executive vice president in 2017. As an executive vice president, he mostly recently oversaw Nucor’s beam and plate products operations.
Through the transition, Topalian will serve as president and chief operating officer. He’ll take on his duties as chief executive officer on January 1, 2020.
Published in the October 2019 Edition
