Steel Products

Gerdau Family Execs Step Down

August 25, 2017

André Gerdau Johannpeter has resigned as the chief executive of Gerdau SA, one of the largest steelmakers in the Americas, as members of the founding family exit from the company’s executive management. Gostavo Werneck, head of Gerdau’s Brazil operations, will replace him in January.

Also stepping down from their management roles are Executive Vice-Presidents Claudio Johannpeter and Guilherme Gerdau Johannpeter. All three will remain on the Gerdau board.

The company said it had been planning the management shake-up for the past year, describing it as “an important step in the evolution of its corporate governance,” and denied press reports that it was motivated by probes into alleged wrongdoing by the company.

Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel products in the Americas and ranks as the fourth-largest steelmaker of long and flat products overall in North America.