Nucor announced today that John J. Ferriola will retire as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on December 31, 2019. The Board of Directors elected Leon J. Topalian, 51, to be President and Chief Operating Officer, effective September 5, 2019; he will succeed Ferriola as CEO on January 1, 2020.
Ferriola has served as Chairman since 2014 and as CEO since 2013. Previously, he served as President from 2011 to September 2019, President and Chief Operating Officer from 2011 to 2012, Chief Operating Officer of Steelmaking Operations from 2007 to 2010, Executive Vice President from 2002 to 2007, and Vice President from 1996 to 2001. He has also been a director of Nucor since 2011. Ferriola joined Nucor in 1991 as the Manager of Maintenance and Engineering at Nucor Steel-Texas. He later served as General Manager of Vulcraft-Texas, Nucor Steel-Nebraska and Nucor Steel-Indiana.
Topalian had served as an Executive Vice President of Nucor from 2017 to 2019 and a Vice President from 2013 to 2017. He has been employed by Nucor in various capacities since 1996, including serving as general manager at two Nucor facilities, in Arkansas and Illinois, as well as a Melting and Casting Manager, an Operations Manager, a cold mill production supervisor and a project engineer.