CMC announces new CEO

The board of directors at Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), Irving, Texas, has announced that CEO and Chairman Barbara R. Smith will retire as CEO and has been appointed executive chairman of the board, effective Sept. 1.  The board unanimously voted to appoint CMC President Peter R. Matt to the role of CEO and president of the firm effective Sept. 1. He will continue as a member of the CMC’s board, which he joined in June 2020.  

Smith joined CMC in June 2011 as senior vice president and chief financial officer, according to the company’s website. She was promoted to chief operating officer in 2016 and to CEO Sept. 1, 2017.

Before her time at CMC, Smith was chief financial officer for Gerdau Ameristeel and FARO Technologies. She also spent more than 20 years with Alcoa Inc. in a variety of leadership positions across various businesses within Alcoa.

Matt was named president of CMC earlier this year. Previously, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Constellium SE, a global aluminum fabrication company. Before joining Constellium, he served as a managing partner for Tumpline Capital LLC from 2015 to 2016. From 1985 to 2015, he held various leadership positions with Credit Suisse.

Sarah Raiss, lead independent director for CMC’s board, says, "On behalf of the board of directors, I want to thank Barbara for her years of service to CMC, her outstanding leadership, commitment to our values and dedication to the company, its employees, customers, communities and shareholders. Barbara led CMC through a period of unprecedented transformation, growth and innovation.  The board is looking forward to continuing this strong trajectory under the leadership of Peter Matt, who is a strategic thinker, strong collaborator and proven leader."

“We have every confidence in Peter as he takes on the role and responsibilities of chief executive officer, which is the result of a thoughtful and deliberate long-term succession planning process,” Smith says. “Peter brings a wealth of financial, strategic and executive leadership experience, and I am pleased to transition the role of chief executive officer of the company to Peter."

CMC and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle and fabricate steel and metal products and provide related materials and services through a network of facilities that includes seven electric arc furnace (EAF) mini mills, three EAF micro mills, one rerolling mill, steel fabrication and processing plants, construction-related product warehouses and metal recycling facilities in the United States and Poland.