Alcoa’s Belda Plans to Step Down as Chairman in 2010

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Alcoa Inc. said Chairman Alain Belda will retire in April after 40 years with the company and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld may take over the position in addition to his current duties. Belda will step down as an Alcoa officer on Aug. 1 and as chairman on April 23, when the company convenes its annual shareholders meeting, New York-based Alcoa said today in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. While CEO, Belda proposed a $27.4 billion acquisition of Canada’s Alcan Inc. in May 2007 that would have been the biggest metals-industry takeover at the time. In May 2008, Kleinfeld was named CEO less than two weeks before Alcoa’s share price began a decline of as much as 89 percent as the global recession cut demand for base metals. Alcoa has more than doubled since reaching a March 6 low of $4.97 as distributors began to replenish inventories. Aluminum on the London Metal Exchange has risen 17 percent this year. Alcoa fell 25 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $11.01 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Belda was appointed chairman and CEO of Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, in January 2001 and has been with the company since 1969. Belda, 66, worked for Alcoa’s Brazilian operations in the 1970s and was appointed president of the Brazil unit in 1979, according to Kevin Lowery, an Alcoa spokesman. The Alcan purchase, aimed at countering Alcoa’s loss of market share to Chinese producers, was rejected by shareholders and the Canadian company eventually was acquired by Rio Tinto Group in 2007. New Chairman Kleinfeld, 51, who joined Alcoa as chief operating officer in August 2007, is “anticipated” to take on the additional role of chairman, Alcoa said. On July 8, Alcoa reported a second-quarter loss that was smaller than analysts’ estimates. Production cuts and workforce reductions implemented to contend with lower aluminum demand amid the global recession helped save money, the company said. To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Rob Delaney in Toronto at robdelaney@bloomberg.net.