Alcoa Re-Aligns Global Primary Products Business to Sustain and Accelerate Improvements, Seize Growth Opportunities

NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today a re-alignment of its Global Primary Products(GPP) business organization that will sustain and accelerate the manyimprovements the operations have made, and seize growth opportunities as theeconomy recovers. * Effective immediately, John Thuestad, 49, has been named to the new positionof Chief Operating Officer for GPP Worldwide, reporting to Bernt Reitan, AlcoaExecutive Vice President and President GPP. Thuestad was formerly President ofGPP-United States. * Jean-Pierre Gilardeau, 57, has been appointed to the new post of President,GPP-North America and Iceland. He had been President, GPP-Canada and Iceland. Hewill report to John Thuestad and will be responsible for overseeing Primaryoperations in the U.S., Canada and Iceland. Bob Wilt, VP of Operational Excellence in U.S. Primary, will replace Thuestad asPresident of GPP-United States. Pierre Morin, VP Operations GPP-Canada, willbecome President, GPP-Canada. Bernt Reitan said, "These changes strengthen our Primary business on a both aglobal and regional basis, puts proven leaders in our key U.S. and Canadianmarkets, and further aligns our organization for continued success." Biographical information follows: John Thuestad: John Thuestad joined Alcoa in 2008 as President, Global Primary Products -United States, with responsibility for Alcoa`s aluminum smelters in the U.S. andthe alumina refinery in Pt. Comfort, Texas. Before coming to Alcoa, John was President and CEO of Elkem AS of Norway, ametals and materials company, since 2005. Alcoa`s 45-year presence in Norway wasestablished through a partnership with Elkem. Between 2000-2005, he was seniorvice president, Aluminium Division and Managing Director of 50%-Alcoa ownedElkem Aluminium ANS. John also held the CEO and President positions at Norzink, a zinc and aluminumfluoride producer owned 50/50 by Rio Tinto and Boliden. He was the ManagingDirector of Hydro Aluminium - Fundo Wheels, a producer of low pressure aluminumwheels for high end automakers such as BMW, Audi and Volvo. John has held various production, marketing and project management positions atthe Bremanger and Salten silicon plants, Sulitjelma copper smelter and ElkemEngineering Division in Norway. From 1988-1992 he was sales/marketing managerwith Elkem Metals USA based in Pittsburgh. John graduated from the Norwegian Technical University in 1983. He obtained anMBA degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in 1990. Jean-Pierre Gilardeau:Jean-Pierre Gilardeau became President, Alcoa Global Primary Products for Canadaand Iceland in 2007. He had been president of Alcoa`s Primary Metals facilitiesin Canada, which include Baie Comeau, ABI (Aluminerie de Bécancour Incorporée),Bécancour Rod Plant, and Aluminerie de Deschambault (Lauralco). With theaddition of Iceland, Jean-Pierre has accountability for Alcoa`s first newprimary smelter in 20 years, the Fjardaal smelter in Iceland, and is overseeingthe feasibility study to establish a second smelter in Bakki, North Iceland. Jean-Pierre joined Alcoa in 1998 as works manager of Eastalco (Maryland) Worksin the U.S. In 2000, he was named president of Alcoa`s Northeast SmeltingRegion, with responsibility for the company`s Canadian and New York Statealuminum smelters based in Quebec. Prior to joining Alcoa, Jean-Pierre was general manager of the Alumax-ownedAluminerie Lauralco smelter in Quebec, a position he held for eight years. Alcoaacquired Alumax in 1998. Earlier in his career, Jean-Pierre served in various management positions atGraybec Inc., a major lime and quarry operation in Joliette, Quebec, and was anengineer for the chemical division of Domtar, Inc. Jean-Pierre holds an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. About Alcoa:Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum,fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active and growingparticipation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace,automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation andindustrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and othercapabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminumproducts and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions,and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa wheels, fastening systems, precision andinvestment castings, and building systems. The Company has been named one of thetop most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum inDavos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexfor seven consecutive years. Alcoa employs approximately 63,000 people in 31countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com