Nippon rounds out U.S. Steel board with 'world-class' American businessmen from outside steel industry

Nippon Steel has appointed three more members to U.S. Steel’s board of directors as the Japanese firm molds its new acquisition.

The directors announced Wednesday are all U.S. citizens, giving the board four American and three Japanese seats.

As a condition of approving Nippon’s takeover of U.S. Steel in June, the federal government is requiring the Pittsburgh-based company to have a majority American board.

Filling the three open spots on the board are: former AT&T CEO John Donovan; Robert Stevens, the former CEO of defense contractor Lockheed Martin; and retired U.S. Navy Admiral Timothy Keating, who now runs a security consulting firm.

While they bring a vast combined knowledge of business and national security, none has experience in the steel industry.

The rest of the board consists of longtime U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt as well as three Nippon executives: Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori, Executive Vice President Naoki Sato; and Managing Executive Officer Hiroshi Ono.

“The new U.S. Steel board is composed of highly accomplished leaders who share a commitment to protecting the American steel industry, American workers and American national security,” Burritt said in statement.

Mori called the board “world class,” saying in a statement it shares a common goal of making U.S. Steel the nation’s leading steelmaker.

U.S. Steel did not immediately respond to questions about why Nippon chose some directors without a steel background.

U.S. Steel is still waiting on President Donald Trump to appoint a “Class G” director who he can order to block certain business decisions, like closing factories or moving the company’s headquarters from Pittsburgh.

Along with the rule that U.S. Steel must have majority American board members, installing a government director is part of an agreement to mitigate concerns about a foreign firm running a key domestic manufacturer.

The board may have gotten a new composition, but Nippon has elected to keep most executives from before the deal in place, including Burritt.