New Chair of the Management Board of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH

• Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold to succeed Ulrich Grethe as the Management Board Chair as from 5/1/2024
• With a doctorate in engineering, she has more than 25 years of management experience in the steel industry

Salzgitter. The Supervisory Board of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH (SZFG) appointed Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold (54) as the new Chair of the Management Board at its latest meeting. She will assume the position on 5/1/2025, succeeding Ulrich Grethe (63) who will leave the company as agreed on 12/31/2024 to enter retirement. The existing Management Board will report to the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG in the interim.

Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold commands many years of leadership and management experience in the steel industry and holds extensive expertise in the fields of sales, production, quality, SCM and logistics. She studied Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at RWTH Aachen University where she subsequently completed her doctorate.

Gunnar Groebler, Chair of the Supervisory Board of SZFG and CEO of Salzgitter AG, commented as follows on the appointment. “We are delighted to have recruited a proven steel expert and natural leader for our Group in Dr. Denecke-Arnold. We are currently engaged in transitioning to low-carbon production processes. I am certain that with her extensive know-how, Dr. Denecke-Arnold will integrate and drive the further implementation of SALCOS® - Salzgitter Low CO₂ Steelmaking forward, with the prime aim of creating value-added solutions for our customers. This will also help to safeguard our location here and secure future-proof steel production in Germany.” Gunnar Groebler went continued with the following remarks. “Ulrich Grethe has played a decisive role at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH. His journey from trainee to Chair of the Management Board and member of the Group Management Board is a testament to what can be achieved with verve, expertise and personal integrity. He initiated and shaped many of the trailblazing strategies of the past decades. Ulrich Grethe has been instrumental in ensuring that Salzgitter as a steel location has the necessary potential to maintain its leadership role.”

Dr. Heike Denecke-Arnold addressed her new assignment in the following terms. “I look forward to assuming a position of responsibility in this exciting and challenging phase of the company and to working with all the different teams to successfully lead the company’s transformation into the future. I am firmly convinced that steel will remain the number one industrial material and that it can continue to be viably produced in Germany. The transformation already underway proves that we are on the right track.”