To prepare for the spinning-out of its upstream and downstream business segments later this year, lightweight alloys specialist Alcoa has recently appointed three new Directors, expanding the existing Board to 15. Effective February 5th, Ulrich ‘Rick’ Schmidt, John Plant and Sean Mahoney are serving on the board, bringing with them valuable aerospace and automotive experience as the company proceeded to implement fundamental changes to its business structure.
Mahoney would be added to the class of Directors whose term expires in 2016, while Schmidt and Plant would be added to the class of Directors whose terms expire in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Alcoa plans to separate into two publicly traded companies in the second half of 2016. The upstream company would comprise five business units constituting global primary products: bauxite, alumina, aluminium, cast products and energy; the innovation and technology-driven value-add company would include the global rolled products, engineered products and solutions, as well as the transportation and construction solutions businesses. As the company prepares to implement the separation, the Board would work closely with Alcoa’s Management Team in a comprehensive review of its portfolio, operations, profitability drivers and cost structure.