British Steel appoints new CEO
27 March 2017
British Steel has announced the appointment of Peter Bernscher as the company’s new chief executive officer. He will take up the position on 2nd May 2017.
Peter Bernscher has 30 years of experience in the steel industry. Aged 48 and from Austria his most recent post is as executive board member of voestalpine’s metal forming division. Previous positions in the company include a CEO role in the Dutch voestalpine Polynorm Group and a managing director position in the steel division’s International Service Centre Organisation. He spent several years as executive board member of Metalservice Group – a voestalpine joint venture in Italy. He obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 2006.
When Peter Bernscher joins British Steel, Roland Junck will continue in his current role as executive chairman until the end of 2017. They will work in tandem during this period of handover, after which time Roland Junck will take up the position of non-executive chairman.
Roland Junck said: “I’m delighted to welcome Peter to our team. We haven’t rushed the process of securing a CEO because we wanted to ensure we got the right person for the role and Peter is that person.”
Speaking about his new appointment Peter Bernscher said: “I’m delighted to have accepted the role of CEO at British Steel. I’m immensely impressed with the turnaround the business has made in the past 12 months – the change in results and in the way the business is now operating makes me excited about what lies ahead.”
“The British Steel brand also attracted me to the position – it brings strength from its heritage but also a fresh approach and will be a great asset in helping the business to be successful in both domestic and international markets.”
“Everyone I’ve met within the business has shown a drive and determination to make sure it continues to secure further growth.” British Steel recently announced that it ended Q3 2016 in profit following its first seven months of independence and is already executing the next stage of its turnaround plan. The business is on track to continue its growth in a competitive global market through a combination of both further cost-efficiencies and continued investment. The company has committed over GB£39 million (€45 million) in capital expenditure this financial year and taken on over 350 new employees since its launch on 1st June 2016.
