Lucerne, December 22, 2020 - The Board of Directors of Swiss Steel Group, a global leader in special long steel, has appointed Frank Koch as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Group effective January 1, 2022 at the latest. Now that key milestones in the realignment of the Swiss Steel Group have been reached, the current CEO Clemens Iller has decided to leave the company, thus also enabling a fresh start for the management of the Group.

Frank Koch (48) has successfully managed and restructured the long-established German steel producer GMH Group (Georgsmarienhütte) as CEO for the last three years, having already been a member of the Group Executive Board there as CSO/Logistics and COO from 2008. Frank Koch began his career in 1991 with an apprenticeship in industrial general administration in the steel division of ThyssenKrupp. While holding various positions in the ThyssenKrupp Group, he was also working for the first time at Deutsche Edelstahlwerke, a subsidiary of the Swiss Steel Group, before becoming responsible for strategy and sales at leading Italian steel producer Danieli from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 he returned to Deutsche Edelstahlwerke, where he was also responsible for sales and strategy until 2007.

Since joining the company in April 2014, Clemens Iller has successfully led the current Swiss Steel Group during a period marked by major structural and financial challenges. He moved the company's headquarters from Germany to Switzerland in 2015, acquired the Ascometal Group in 2018, was responsible for several refinancings and consolidated Swiss Steel Group Business Units into a unified group. The global sales presence was expanded to more than 70 branches and a uniform sales concept was introduced at the same time. To counter the economic consequences of the market downturn and the Covid-19 crisis, a 5-year restructuring program was set up under his leadership and successfully implemented in 2020. He will remain available to the company in an advisory capacity until further notice to ensure a seamless transition to his successor.

Jens Alder, Chairman of the Board of Directors, says: "With an impressive career from basic training to CEO of a complex industrial group and positions at several leading steel companies, Frank Koch demonstrated  outstanding strategic and operational skills and experience. He successfully implemented comprehensive turn-around and restructuring programs and in each case achieved significant improvements in the operating and financial performance of the companies he  led. He has what it takes to lead the Swiss Steel Group to success, even at times of continuing major challenges. The Board of Directors thanks Clemens Iller for his great commitment in leading the company in a very challenging environment and for his dedication in focusing the company on its core as a sustainable steel producer."

Clemens Iller, outgoing CEO, says: "I am grateful to have been able to lead and shape the Swiss Steel Group for almost 7 years through challenging times and changes in the  international environment. Following the stabilization and refinancing of the group, I am now giving the way for a new management team and turn my attention to new tasks.'