Shakeups Continue at Severstal North America with Restructuring of Leadership Team

Severstal North America, the Dearborn-based steel company, announced another round of management restructuring on Sept. 27.

Gerrit Reepmeyer was appointed vice president of procurement, the position which was previously held by CEO Saikat Dey.

Reepmeyer joined Severstal North America in April 2013 as director of energy and utilities. Previously, he worked at E.ON – one of the world’s largest investor owned power and gas companies located in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Reepmeyer holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Technical University of Berlin and a doctorate degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.

“Gerrit’s education, experience and achievements at SNA and on previous assignments position him well to drive the strategic decision-making processes needed to propel the procurement function to the next level,” said Dey.

Mikhail Zhavoronkov was appointed vice president of corporate planning, pricing and logistics, succeeding Michael Bohn.

Most recently, Zhavoronkov worked as director of financial planning and analysis and information technology. He joined Severstal in Russia in 2000, where he worked on strategy and business development until he joined SNA’s finance department in 2004.

Zhavoronkov has a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University and an MBA from Newcastle Business School.

“Mike Bohn’s knowledge of the steel industry is unsurpassed, and his hard work and experience had a tremendous impact on our company. Mikhail and his team will now assume the challenges of driving our planning, pricing and logistics function. He past performance and excellent analytical skills have prepared him well for this assignment,” Dey said.

Dennis Johnson was appointed vice president of quality, advanced engineering and continuous improvement. Johnson succeeds Christopher Kristock, who is retiring after 29 years with Severstal.

Johnson joined SNA in January 2012 to drive the implementation of the company’s continuous improvement initiatives. He joined Severstal from McKinsey and Company, where he held the position of engagement manager serving a broad range of clients including electric utilities, nuclear power companies and industrial manufacturers.

Johnson is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. He also holds an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"I am pleased to welcome Dennis to join our senior leadership team, as he assumes the challenges of driving our quality assurance and product development processes to the next level of excellence,” Dey said.

Dey also commented on the restructuring of the senior leadership team over the past month.

“I am confident that we have a very strong leadership team in place, ready to take on the challenges of today’s marketplace," he said. "This is a highly competitive industry, which is constantly evolving, and we need to be able to progress ahead with it.

"We have capable, smart and experienced individuals in place, who bring to the table fresh, innovative thinking and ideas, openness, engagement, accountability and managerial courage," Dey said.