Son rise at ArcelorMittal: Aditya to take over as CEO

Global steel giant ArcelorMittal on Thursday announced the appointment of Aditya Mittal as its chief executive officer (CEO).

Aditya Mittal, son of steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal, is the chief financial officer (CFO) of the company, and will succeed his father in the new role.

In a statement, the Luxembourg-based steel maker said Lakshmi Mittal, who is currently chairman and CEO, will become the company's executive chairman and Aditya Mittal will become the CEO.

"The board of directors of ArcelorMittal today (Thursday) announces Aditya Mittal, currently president, CFO and CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe, will become chief executive officer of the company.

"Lakshmi N Mittal, who founded the company in 1976 and is currently chairman and CEO, will become executive chairman," the company said.

In this position, Lakshmi Mittal will continue to lead the board of directors and work together with the CEO and management team, it said.

The company added that Genuino Christino will now become its CFO. Christino joined the company in 2003 and has held the position of head of finance since 2016.

On his appointment as CEO, Aditya Mittal said it is an honour for him to be the CEO of the world's largest steel making company.

His father, he said, built ArcelorMittal from a greenfield rolling mill in Indonesia to become the world's leading steel company today.

Aditya Mittal further said, "The world is transforming at a rapid pace and this change brings challenges but also many opportunities for ArcelorMittal. The biggest challenge, but also the biggest opportunity, will be to demonstrate that steel can de-carbonise and indeed is the perfect material for a circular economy."

Lakshmi Mittal said the board unanimously agrees that Aditya Mittal is the natural and right choice to be the company's CEO. He has an unrivalled knowledge of the business and a keen sense of how the company must continue to transform to remain the world's leading steel company.

In the statement, Bruno Lafont, lead independent non-executive director, said, "Aditya Mittal is without a doubt the right candidate to be the next chief executive of ArcelorMittal. His knowledge and experience of the company is second to none.