Kick-off of ArcelorMittal’s 2010 Leadership Convention

After a flurry of preparations and much anticipation, more than 500 delegates gathered in Chicago to start an intense three-day agenda for the 2010 ArcelorMittal Leadership Convention. Reflecting the city’s gangster past, Lou Schorsch, CEO, ArcelorMittal Americas, dressed in a Fedora hat and dark glasses, kicked off the convention by welcoming everyone to his “kind of town.” Schorsch highlighted the similarities between Chicago and ArcelorMittal like how the city suffered a devastating fire, but made the most of the situation to construct the world’s first skyscraper.

With regular football updates from the FIFA World Cup, Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal, then took to the stage to speak about the passion and dedication of our 280,000 employees based in 60 countries. “Your plant is part of a global network that forms one of the biggest companies in the world,” said Mr. Mittal. As he explained the convention’s theme of “winning in the post-crisis world,” Chicago’s stormy skies cleared and seemed to underline this important message.

In the afternoon, delegates caught a glimpse of the “steel plant of the future” through a presentation by Greg Ludkovsky, Vice President, Global Research and Development (R&D). “If ArcelorMittal is going to be competitive and achieve its potential we need to look for opportunities to innovate at all levels. This will require improved technology and a better job of bringing R&D scale to operations,” said Gonzalo Urquijo, GMB member who introduced Ludkovsky’s presentation.

The first day concluded with a visit to the city’s famous Art Institute where the renowned sculptor, Anish Kapoor, and structural engineer Cecil Balmond presented the ArcelorMittal Orbit blueprints to the delegates. Afterwards, Mr. Mittal and his son Aditya Mittal, CFO, ArcelorMittal, soaked in the Chicago skyline  as they walked back to the hotel and reflected on a busy first day.

By Candice Olson, Communications, ArcelorMittal USA